Through the Fire and the Flames
by Anidori-Isilee
Summary: You know, I think the universe hates me. Any good luck I used to have is nonexistent; everything I loved -my housefolk, my old life- was ripped away from me. And now that I've got a new home, it's in danger of being destroyed, too. And only I can stop it.
1. Allegiances

**I know I'm working on my other story, Shadows and Starlight (which OF COURSE you should read and are going to after you read this, RIGHT?!) , at the same time, but I got this new idea and it wouldn't leave me alone, so finally I wrote it down. It's kind of a twist on the whole kittypet-to-warrior thing, 'cuz pretty much every kittypet/rogue who's joined the Clans has wanted to (except for Daisy, I guess, but who cares about Daisy?). What if they didn't have a choice? What if they liked their old life just fine?**

**I really hope you like it.**

**Allegiances**

ThunderClan

Leader**Lighteningstar**–black tom with white throat and tail; yellow eyes

Deputy **Lightfur**–very light gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Medicine Cat **Brightfur**- tortoiseshell she-cat with bright green eyes and startlingly pink nose

**Apprentice, Sagepaw**

Warriors (Toms, and she-cat without kits)

**Pebblefur**- light gray tom with yellow eyes

**Pouncetail**- gray tabby tom with green eyes

**Whi****t****efoot**- white she-cat with blue eyes

**Ravenflight**- black she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Russetpaw**

**Cloudfur**- long-haired white and gray tom with blue eyes

**Apprentice, Larchpaw**

**Barkfang**- dark brown mottled tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Brindlepaw**

**Brackenfoot**- golden brown she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Mothpaw**

**Sandclaw**- pale tabby tom with dark brown stripes; amber eyes

**Graystorm**- solid gray tom with pale green eyes

**Redfur**- dark reddish ginger tom with amber eyes

**Cherryspots**- white and ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Lionclaw**- golden-furred tom with green eyes

**Dustfoot**- dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Rainflower**- blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Moonfoot**- ginger and white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices**Sagepaw** – light gray tom with yellow eyes

**Russetpaw**- reddish ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Brindlepaw**- pale tabby she-cat with dark stripes and amber eyes

**Larchpaw**- light gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

**Mothpaw**- slender, very light cream she-cat with yellow eyes; formerly Sara, a kittypet

Queens(She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**Hollythorn**- dark brown mottled she-cat with bright green eyes; mother of Cloudfur's kit: Shadekit (dark gray she-cat with amber eyes)

Elders**Ashtail**- speckled gray tabby tom with blue eyes; oldest cat in ThunderClan

**Dapplefur**- pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

**Mudfur**- mottled brown tom with amber eyes

ShadowClan

Leader**Emberstar**–tom with mottled dark brown coat and orange eyes

Deputy **Tigerfang**–pale tabby tom with dark stripes and amber eyes

Medicine Cat **Pinefur** – dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors (Toms, and she-cat without kits)

**Owlflight**- brown tabby tom with large yellow eyes

**Foxtail**- reddish ginger she-cat with green eyes and bushy tail

**Apprentice, Nightpaw**

Apprentices**Nightpaw** –black and white she-cat with amber eyes

Queens(She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**Breezefur**- white and gray she-cat with amber eyes

Elders**Kestrelflight**- dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes

WindClan

Leader**Tawnystar** – tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Deputy **Rainfall**–dark gray tom with blue eyes

Medicine Cat **Stonesong**- dark gray tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Thistlepaw**

Warriors (Toms, and she-cat without kits)

**Rosefur**- reddish ginger she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Shrewpaw**

**Sparrowfur**- brown tabby tom

**Apprentice, Harepaw**

Apprentices**Harepaw** – white and gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Shrewpaw** –dark gray tom with amber eyes

**Thistlepaw** – pale tabby tom with yellow eyes

Queens(She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**Larksong**- pretty gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Elders**Fogwhisker**- very light gray tom with amber eyes

RiverClan

Leader**Ripplestar** – light gray tabby tom with dark blue eyes

Deputy **Tallfoot**–golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat **Leafclaw**- brown and white tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors (Toms, and she-cat without kits)

**Littlefoot**- white and gray tom with blue eyes

**Apprentice, Minnowpaw**

**Seedfur**- speckled gray she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices**Minnowpaw**– light gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Queens(She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**Sunfur**- mottled golden she-cat with amber eyes

**Flowerpetal**- tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Elders**Hawkwing**- reddish ginger tom with amber eyes

SkyClan

Leader**Streamstar** –gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy **Smokefur**–dark gray tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat **Poppyfoot**- white and ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors (Toms, and she-cat without kits)

**Icefur**- white she-cat with blue eyes

**Brightfur**- tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

**Duskfur**- dusky brown she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice, Brookpaw**

Apprentices**Brookpaw** – brown and white tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Queens(She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**Cinderfur**- dark gray she-cat with blue eyes

Elders**Milkfoot**- white she-cat with green eyes

**Blackfur**- black tom with amber eyes


	2. Prologue

**Sorry it's so short, but I'll update soon.**

**_Prologue_**

My life ended in a raging fireball. Flashes of blinding orange and red flame. Burning pain, pain that made my paws stumble and made me wish for death. Choking and gagging for the lack of air, black smoke searing my lungs, making my eyes stream and my nose hurt. Sparks that flew through the air like birds, stinging and singing my fur.

My life didn't end, exactly – I'm still breathing. But it might as well have.

I was thrust without warning into this strange, savage world that I don't understand, with new rules and odd customs, the complete opposite of what I used to have, where I must fight for every taste of food and my right to survive. I have a new name, a new life. It's like my old one never even existed.

And my new life's not one I want.


	3. Chapter 1

**Thank you to all who reviewed - strawberrypaw, mistfur, and everyone else! Enjoy!**

**_Chapter One_**

I had no idea what was happening. I sat in my basket for a heartbeat, half-asleep, trying to figure out what that awful noise was and that horrid, bitter smell that stung my nose and made my eyes stream was, before it finally clicked with a jolt of pure terror. _Fire! _I was really awake now, pure adrenaline shooting through me. I wish I could say I kept my calm and everything, but I wasn't thinking of anything other than escaping the fire. I bolted out of my basket, my ears flat against my head for some protection from the shrieking, my fur bristling. There was no way I could escape from the second story unless I wanted to fall to my death, even if the windows were open (which they weren't; if they were, the smoke would've gone out of them instead of filling up the house), so I raced down the stairs, running faster than I ever have before, hugging the wall to avoid the hot red flames clawed their way up the stair railing, spitting out sparks that stung my fur like tiny bees. It was like running into a searing, choking black cloud, with all the smoke that seemed to writhe like a living thing, hiding everything. When I finally reached the bottom, the heat hit me like a hot, invisible wave. The living room was on fire, too, the wooden furniture being eaten through by the flames. I whirled around, trying to find some way to escape, wheezing for air. If I could just reach the kitchen, I could leave through the flap my housefolk had installed for me. But it wasn't going to be easy. Flames roared and reached out their fiery paws, trying to catch hold on my fur. Hot, acrid smoke was everywhere, billowing up from the fire, hiding everything in a dense, choking black cloud. Over everything was the nonstop shrieking battering at my ears, a harsh, deafening sound that made it feel like a spike was drilling into my head. It was the loudest sound I'd ever heard.

I cowered in the corner, trying to ignore everything else and find an opening in the darting flames where I could escape to the kitchen. As more of the smoke began to find its way upstairs, the air cleared, just enough for me to see a gap in the flames, closing in at every heartbeat. I couldn't wait for another escape route to open itself up, so I took my chance and streamed through it.

The kitchen must have been where the fire started, because the fire and smoke in the living room was nothing compared to this. The flames completely blocked off my one and only escape route, forging a fiery ring around me that inched closer and closer. There was only one break in the flaming line – the table. If I could just race over the top of it and jump down, I would be right in front of my catflap.

There was only one problem.

The table was on fire.

I stared at it in terror. A jump I'd easily made thousands of times before seemed impossible. _I don't have time for this! _I thought fiercely. Black dots were dancing in and out in front of my eyes, and my lungs felt like they were on fire for lack of air. I couldn't exactly take a deep breath, but I gathered myself and made the leap. I was so weak from all the smoke that I just barely managed to dig my claws over the top. I hauled myself over, my muscles screaming in protest. For one terrifying moment, it seemed like there was no air to breathe, but then I caught my breath (as much as I could) and sprinted across the table, dodging the sudden spurts of flame that shot up when I was least expecting it. And then, I saw it – my gateway to freedom! I leaped for my catflap, my paws outstretched, but I misjudged the distance and landed off balance, tumbling sideways into the fire. I felt a sudden, searing pain on my side before the adrenaline and terror pushed it away; I leaped to my paws and shot out the catflap, bounding across the garden just as the windows exploded, bursting outward in a rain of falling glass. Fire hungrily licked the window frames; flower beds and the bushes that grew underneath the windows caught on flame. There was no way I could go back inside – even if I wanted to.

Though the cold air helped to clear my head, I still couldn't breathe or think clearly enough to really think things through. Wheezing and gasping in air that seared my lungs just as much as the smoke, I frantically looked for another way to run; I'd raced straight from one danger and into another. I couldn't go over the fence to the right, because the housefolk there kept a huge dog outside, whose head was as big as my entire body. I could hear it barking under the deafening shrieking, which was thankfully a little quieter outside. It would eat me alive. And the left side was out because the fire had jumped the fence and was burning over there was well.

That meant there was only one way to go.

Into the forest.

That thought was almost as scary as the fire or the dog. I'd never felt the tiniest wish to go there; I loved my comfortable home, the tuna my Twolegs fed me, the way they stroked my fur. And if the rumors were true, wild cats who ate other cats and bones lived there. But I'd never believed the gossip – I'd always thought it was a tale mothers told adventurous kittens to keep them from wandering off. At least I hoped so.

Either way, though, I had a much better chance of surviving there than I did with my other options. The dog and the fire were real; the wild cats might not be. I steeled myself and jumped, making it only half-way up the fence. I scrambled up the rest, teetered a heartbeat on the edge, closed my eyes tightly, and leaped, or more correctly, fell, to the ground on the other side.

I tumbled over and over until I finally stopped at the base of a tree. Half-unconscious, I struggled to breathe as the terror and adrenaline faded, leaving me as weak as a newborn kit. I hoped with all my heart the wild cats weren't real. I would be easy prey.

I think I blacked out for a moment before I gradually became aware of a heat on my flank. It wasn't unpleasant at first, but then it got hotter and hotter. I smelled smoke. Terrified that the fire had jumped this fence too and was reaching for me – I couldn't drag myself another step - I opened my eyes.

It wasn't the forest on fire.

It was me.

My fur was on fire!

I screamed in agony as the heat got stronger and stronger, writhing and twisting on the ground. _Water! I've got to find water! _But there wasn't any!

I heard pawsteps racing towards me through the crackling bracken, but I was in too much pain to worry about wild cats anymore.

"I can see a glow up ahead!"

"Did that fire jump the fence?"

"No, I don't think – Great StarClan, it's a cat!"

"It's on fire!"

"Pouncetail, go fetch Brightsong!"

More pawsteps, running away this time. I heard the others stop beside me; my eyes were open, but all I could see was darkness. I was too tired to scream anymore; my mouth was gaping in a silent wail as I thrashed around on the hard ground.

"Roll," the last voice hissed close to my ear. "Roll if you want to live!"

Anything to take away the agony!I rolled frantically, as the wild cats kicked dirt over me to suffocate the fire. I felt the flames go out with a heady rush of relief, but it didn't last long. My side was on fire with pain even without the blaze, and I felt blood welling up out of stinging cuts where I guessed the falling glass had cut me. I was stretched out limply on my side, wheezing, too weak to even thrash now. My paws twitched spastically.

The cat who'd said I was on fire, a she-cat, bent her head close to my face, her breath ruffling my whiskers. "Are you okay?"

"It hurts," was all I could whimper.

She stroked her tail down my cheek. "Don't worry," she meowed, her voice so confident and soothing I instantly felt my terror start to ebb. "Our medicine cat is coming. Everything will be okay."

I was just too tired, too tired to ask what on earth a medicine cat was or StarClan was, which would've been my normal reaction. Too tired to care. Too tired…

The last thing I can remember was being picked up by the scruff of my neck and carried, my tail dragging limply on the ground.


	4. Chapter 2

**Thank you, EeveeCelebi749, Rain That Falls From Sky, mistfur and everyone else who's reviewed!**

**My friend cateratelol has written 8 stories for Warriors and she needs reviews! So...yeah! Go check out her stories, people!**

**_Chapter Two_**

Something poked me in the side - hard. My housefolk, Mark and Lucy, didn't jab me like that…maybe there was something sharp in my basket. I half-debated getting up and moving it, but I just decided to ignore it. Even thinking felt like too much work, I was so tired. I shifted deeper into my basket, already falling asleep again, when the whatever-it-was poked me again. Harder. I squeaked in protest, groping blindly with my paws to shove it away from me. I would shred it for wrecking my sleep – when I got up, that is.

"Oh, you're awake!" someone said.

I sighed. There was no way I was going to go back to sleep now.

_Wait a second_. Housefolk couldn't speak cat. Whatever I was sleeping in was a lot rougher than my soft basket lining….

I blearily blinked open my eyes, on the verge of panic.

And as far as I knew, I didn't live in a strange-smelling cave.

A light gray tom about my age of six months, I guess the one who had spoken, padded up to me and bent down, touching his nose to mine in greeting.

"Aah!" I screamed, flinching and trying to leap away from him. All that did was make my side hurt. _Really _hurt – so bad I couldn't breathe for a heartbeat, so bad I nearly passed out again. I twisted around, not understanding why it hurt so much. What I saw made me scream again.

"What happened to my fur?!" I shrieked. _What's happening to me?! _My entire right side was shiny, raw, red and _bald. _My fur was gone!

The gray cat extended a forepaw, trying to calm me down. "It was singed off, but don't worry, it'll grow back-"

"The fire!" I screeched, horrible memories of angry, writhing red flames and choking smoke flooding my mind. I shook my head, trying to chase away those awful thoughts, the smell of my burning fur- _No! Stop it! _

The gray cat inched closer, yellow eyes wide with worry. "Are you okay?" I vaguely realized that he had a weird accent, but I was too freaked out to really notice it.

"No, I'm not okay!" I wailed. "What do you think?! My home's been destroyed, I'm who knows where and my fur is gone and-" I blinked, realizing what exactly I was talking to. "You're a wild cat!"

"No," he tried to explain, blinking a little in shock and hurt at being called a "wild cat". "I'm the medicine cat apprentice of ThunderClan."

"I don't even know what those things are!" I yelled. My voice was starting to go hoarse. My eyes still stung from the smoke, and my side _hurt_. So much, in fact, that I gave up on the idea of standing and moving in general, pressing myself back against my rougher-than-my-basket nest. Even breathing hurt!

The gray tom stepped back, to give me some room, bemusement that I hadn't heard of Whatsit-Clan filling his eyes. "Um, well…I help take care of ThunderClan's injuries. And ThunderClan…um...ThunderClan's a big group of cats that live together in the forest, along with three others – ShadowClan, who live on the other side of the Thunderpath, a big gray path where Twolegs ride inside their monsters; RiverClan, who lives on the other side of the river; and WindClan, who lives on the moors."

This was making my head spin. The territories didn't matter to me, because I had no idea where anything was – I'd never ever ventured past my fence - but ThunderClan, WindClan, cat-vets (which is what I guess he was; why he'd call himself such a long-winded and weird name was beyond me – "medicine cat apprentice", honestly,) ; what in the world was a Thunderpath? Twolegs…he probably meant housefolk, and monsters were probably cars. I shook my head helplessly. I didn't want to think about all this. I just wanted to sleep, and my side to stop hurting...

He backed up towards a dark crevice further in the cave, seemingly relieved that I'd stopped screaming at him. "I was going to reapply a poultice for your burns before you woke up," he meowed. "I'll just go make it up now."

I narrowed my eyes. Just who did he think he was? I had my own vet, for goodness' sake! I didn't want this inexperienced squirt doing anything to me, and I told him so. "I don't want your help, thank you very much! I do have a vet."

He blinked, hurt filling his eyes again. Even if he didn't know what a vet was, he still got my meaning. I instantly felt bad – not for what I'd said (I really didn't want him doing anything to me), but sorry for hurting his feelings. He was just trying to help – even if I didn't need it. He seemed nice enough.

"Sorry," I sighed. "I just get short-tempered when I'm tired and sore."

He purred in acceptance of my apology. "It's okay. I understand." He turned and darted into the crack. I put my head on my paws with a sigh, too exhausted to even wash. I'd probably pass out if I tried, anyway.

I was regretting my outbursts. I'm not a touchy-feely, say-what-I'm-feeling kind of cat; I never felt comfortable sharing my emotions. It made me feel vunerable, and I couldn't appear weak in front of what's-his-face. It proved just how scared I was, if I was spilling my guts in front of a complete stranger. I vowed to myself to keep a lid on my jabbering.

I could smell the gray tom mixing together several pungent-smelling plants in the cleft. I wrinkled my nose - it didn't smell too good. I felt sorry for the poor sap who it was being made for.

He padded out of the fissure carrying some sort of primitive leaf-wrap. "My name's Sagepaw, by the way."

"_Sagepaw_?" I snorted. It would be almost laughable if I wasn't so confused and freaked out.

"It's a perfectly normal name," he protested, setting down the leaf-wrap.

Yup. I'm sure. Sagepaw. Hmph.

"What's yours?" he asked.

"I'm Sara. I live with my housefolk, Mark and Lucy." A thick, choking wave of homesickness almost swamped me. I wanted to go home! But how could I, when I couldn't even stand without nearly going unconscious? I didn't think about the fact that I might not have any home any more. I had to still have a home. Mark and Lucy wouldn't abandon me…would they? Would they if they knew how bad I was burned? I turned my head away to hide my sadness, but that didn't fool Sagepaw. He blinked at me and licked the top of my head. So much for hiding my emotions.

"It'll be okay, Sa-ra," he meowed softly. I couldn't help being comforted by him, despite the fact that he'd pronounced my name wrong, like "sah-rah", not "sair-ah". I felt vaguely insulted. My name was an easy enough name to say!

He bent down and opened his leaf-wrap. "Okay, hold still, all right?"

My eyes widened. Didn't he get it? I didn't want him doing anything to me!

He saw my expression and hurried to reassure me. "It won't hurt or anything, I promise. You won't be able to make it to your home until you've healed, and this will speed up the process." I thought I saw a flicker of something in his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for me to be sure.

Anyways, I saw the wisdom in his words, and I couldn't argue with common sense. Still, I hated him for sounding reasonable. "Fine," I spat, rolling over slightly so he could spread the herbs over my burn better.

He slathered his poultice all over my burn, and despite how much I tried not to, I couldn't help relaxing as the soothing coolness took away some of the pain. He saw my reaction and grinned, chattering as he worked, telling me more about the Clans – not that I wanted to hear anything about them.

"Lighteningstar's our leader," he meowed. "And Lightfur's the deputy. She's his second-in-command, in charge of carrying out his orders and organizing patrols, that check for anything dangerous and keep the other Clans from stealing our food. Brightsong's the medicine cat, and I'm her apprentice. She's teaching me how to heal cats' injuries and sicknesses. There's only allowed to be one medicine cat and one medicine cat apprentice at a time. Then there are the apprentices, who're in training to become warriors. Then there's all the warriors – toms and she-cats without kits who've completed their training and are full-fledged members of the Clans, who would defend their Clan with their life and take turns patrolling and doing guard duty. There're the queens, she-cats nursing or expecting kits, and the elders, warriors who have retired from their duties…"

Every word he said just made me want to go home even more. All that hardship, having to worry every minute about cats stealing your food or attacking you. I loved my comfortable life, and I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible. Although, I have to admit, they were a lot more civilized than I thought wild cats were supposed to be. Sagepaw seemed all right, for a wild cat - he sure was a heck of a lot nicer than some of the other cats back in my neighborhood.

Bad idea, thinking of home. Another wave of awful homesickness choked me again, and the bleakness of my situation pressed on me like a thousand-ton weight - no home, badly burned, in the middle of a freaking forest who-knows-where in a cat-eat-cat world. I felt lost, like I was in some dark, blacker-than-black tunnel with no foreseeable escape. The only light at the end of the tunnel was the faint ray of hope that my home, my housefolk would still be there waiting for me. I grasped at that hope of a hope like I was drowning. It was the only thing keeping me afloat.

Sagepaw finished applying his poultice, still not noticing my disinterest in his prattling and now going on about something I really didn't care about called the "moonstone". Finally, when he opened his mouth to take a breath, I cut in quickly before he could start again. "Do you have something that would help me sleep?"

He blinked, a little surprised, nodded and dashed back into the crevice, coming out with three black seeds on his paw. He shook them off in front of me. "These are poppy seeds," he told me. "They'll help you to sleep dreamlessly and soundly as a kit."

I had a moment's hesitation. What if they were poison or something? Finally, I decided that he didn't have a reason to want to do me in and slowly licked them up. Almost instantly I felt lethargy come over me, and I panicked for a second. Sagepaw saw my expression and hurried to reassure me.

"That's what they're supposed to do," he said. "They're supposed to make you tired." I gave a huge yawn, and he smiled gently. "Sleep well, Sa-ra."

I still wasn't so sure, but before I could voice my concerns I sank into sleep.

**Sara says you need to review. Yes, you. Right now. So go ahead. Press the little green button. You know you want to.**


	5. Chapter 3

**Thank you, Emberheart0, mistfur, and everyone else for reviewing and stuff! I love you guys!**

_**Chapter Three**_

The same stupid stick that woke me up yesterday struck again - I'd forgotten to dig it out of my bedding before eating those poppy seeds. Jolting awake again, I felt a surge of confusion before I remembered where the heck I was and what had happened to me. Once I did, though, I half-wished I hadn't. More than anything, I wanted to be back in my comfortable, soft basket, or curled up in the crook of Lucy's knee, with gentle hands stroking my fur. Swamped under a thick blanket of sorrow, I wanted to cry and cry until my homesickness had drained out with the tears and left me empty. I didn't want to feel anything anymore. Then my practical side took over.

"Sobbing your heart out isn't going to help anything," I scolded myself, and looked around for something to distract me. My eyes fell on that stupid twig. _Perfect._ Idelicately batted the stick out of my bedding with one unsheathed claw, snarled, and gripped it in my teeth, flinging it out of the cave. It gave a very satisfying thunk as it hit a tree. I purred in triumph and stretched as much as I could without passing out from the pain of my burn, ridding my legs of the stiffness they'd acquired during my nap and yawned, then gave myself a good grooming.

Just as I was finishing washing my ears, Sagepaw trotted in, humming a little past the bundle of herbs he was carrying. He blinked in greeting once he saw me and hurried into the crevice to deposit his herbs. He padded out with his eyes narrowed and his tongue swiping across his whiskers.

"Great StarClan, burdock tastes foul," he groaned, sitting next to me, still trying to get the taste out of his mouth. He caught my questioning look and elaborated. "Burdock's this bitter, foul-tasting plant that helps with rat bites and-"

Someone hollered his name from the clearing, and a heartbeat later a muscular, tall, solid-gray tom limped into the den, not giving me a second glance. Sagepaw scrambled to his paws and hurried over to the gray tom. "What's the matter?" Sagepaw asked.

I didn't like the look of the newcomer; he may've been handsome, but he had that look of a bully – even with that limp he seemed to swagger, and his yellow eyes flashed imperiously, their color reminding me of something... "Here," he said commandingly, holding his paw pad-side up out to Sagepaw to inspect. "Got a thorn in it while out hunting. Get it out, will you?" He practically shoved his paw up Sagepaw's nose. "Now, please!" the arrival added menacingly as if Sagepaw wasn't moving fast enough for him.

Yup, definitely a bully. My blood burned. Sagepaw was pure niceness and this arrogant, egotistical tom acted like Sagepaw was an inferior slave! I'd known a few cats like this, and there was only one way to treat them – with disdain. It drove them nuts when I didn't grovel on my belly before them, and as most of them were blustering cowards, all they did was spew out empty threats – until I showed my claws. Then they ran away with their ears flattened against their heads and their miserable tails tucked between their legs.

Sagepaw sighed, and took hold of the thorn between his teeth, yanking it out with one swift tug. Blood welled up out of the wound, dark scarlet against the pink pad. "I'll go get some herbs for that," Sagepaw meowed. "Lick it clean." The patient bristled at being ordered to do something before he flattened his fur and growled out his acquiesce, reluctantly licking his pad. Sagepaw then darted into the cleft where the herbs were stored; I could hear him muttering to himself and rummaging around.

Only once Sagepaw had disappeared did the newcomer pay any attention to me.

"I am Stonepaw," he began, his tone haughty and superior, pausing briefly as though I was supposed to have heard of him, which of course I hadn't.

I made my eyes stretch wide as if in surprise. "Oh, good for you! You know your own name! Must have taken you absolute ages to learn it!"

Stonepaw looked murderous and shocked that someone would talk to him like that. I guess he thought I was an easy victim, injured and all. Boy, was he wrong, as he was about to find out.

His gray fur fluffed out to try to make himself look more impressive. "Inferior little-" he spat.

I was enjoying this. "An inferior? Where?" I glanced around eagerly.

Stonepaw looked positively murderous. He hissed and raised his uninjured paw, claws unsheathing. Guess he was one of the few that had the strength to back up his words, but I refused to be cowed into surrendering - even though I'd been in a few scraps, I wouldn't be able to match his skill, but I didn't let Stonepaw know that. I narrowed my eyes to mere slits and flattened my ears, fluffing out my fur to match his size.

"Oh, watch out," I taunted. "You might not want to do that – you'll dirty your paws!"

He yowled angrily. "I should slice you open for that insult," he snarled.

I met his blazing yellow eyes squarely; gosh, but those eyes reminded me of someone. _No, no, shake it off, I can't have distractions right now! "_You try it and I'll rip your face off," I growled, lashing out with one paw and hissing, trying to hide the fiery twinge of pain that lanced through me as the movement stretched my burn, biting off a whimper. Stonepaw smirked.

"What're you going to do?" he mocked. "A little lost she-cat, horribly burned, unable to walk!" He howled with mean laughter; I could feel my blood begin to boil, but in a way, he was right. I hurt so much at the slightest movement; if he took just a few steps back, I wouldn't be able to reach him. I was torn two ways – wipe that self-satisfied smirk off his face with a well-aimed slash and pass out, or get him later once I'd healed enough to fight properly. Stonepaw made my choice for me.

Thinking that my silence meant he'd won, he thrust his face close to mine and sneered, "Too bad your mother didn't teach you to not go up against a warrior," he laughed. "You'll always lose!"

I couldn't back down from a challenge. I spat and lashed forward with my paw, at the last minute deciding to sheath my claws in case there was some sort of blood for blood thing among the wild cats. It connected solidly with the side of his head with a very gratifying thump, a blow hard enough to knock most cats out cold. Stonepaw, though – Stonehead, more likely – stayed upright and stumbled backwards, jaws opened in a silent yowl of shock as he stumbled around crazily. I watched gleefully, muffling a snicker. It felt really good to show up such an arrogant blow-hard. _I always had been independent and hotheaded,_ I thought.

Stonepaw, not willing to take it further, backed out of the cave, afraid to turn his back on me. Good to see I'd earned some respect.

"You'll regret this every day of your miserable life," he spat, then whisked around and stomped out, forgetting his injured paw.

I'd almost forgotten Sagepaw's existence, but there he was, padding cautiously out of the cleft with a bundle of herbs in his mouth.

"Where were you?" I snapped, even though I was secretly proud that he'd seen the showdown.

He blinked and set down his herbs. "It was your battle," he explained. "I had no right to interfere, unless he was going to hurt you. I almost jumped in when he raised his paw to you like that, but apparently I should've been worrying about him instead of you." He smiled, picked up his herbs and turned back into the crevice. "Guess Stonepaw doesn't need these," he muttered, his mew muffled by his bundle. "I'll go make up another poultice for your burn."

As Sagepaw reapplied the poultice, he continued chatting. "Stonepaw and I are related," he said glumly. "In case you didn't see the resemblance."

Oh! My eyes went wide. That's what Stonepaw's eyes reminded me of; they were exactly the same color and shape of Sagepaw's; their pelt colors were almost the same, too. I guess I hadn't put two and two together because their personalities were so different. "Are you guys siblings?"

"StarClan forbid!" Sagepaw shuddered. "Larchpaw's my only littermate. M and Stonepaw are cousins, I think. We both got my grandmother, Owlgaze's, eyes."

"How on earth did he end up like that when you're so much nicer?"

Sagepaw pressed a paw on the damp poultice to keep it in place; I relaxed as the soothing juices eased some of the pain that had flared during my face-off with Stonepaw. "My uncle, Hawkeyes, was the deputy before Lightfur. He took a mate, a tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes named Sorrelfoot, and soon she found out she was having kits. But a few moons before she kitted, Hawkeyes was killed by a badger. Sorrelfoot just wasted away, died right after giving birth to Stonepaw. Everyone felt so sorry for the poor kit with no parents and doted on him. It didn't matter to Stonepaw, because he had no memory of his lost parents, but the Clan just soiled him rotten. So he grew up with a very big head and very high self-image; he's the meanest cat in camp. He bullies all the younger apprentices; I'm glad you stood up to him. He needed a taste of his own medicine."

I was feeling pretty good about myself by now. My neighborhood wasn't a very nice one; I'd had to deal with bullies trying to invade my garden or beat me up several times, so I'd gotten in a few scraps. Nothing that scarred, though, unlike the battles the wild cats seemed to get into. Stonepaw, probably only a month older than me, had a huge, pink, jagged scar down his shoulder and even Brightsong and Sagepaw had a few marks.

Sagepaw's next words burst my bubble of pride. "On the other paw, though, you just made an enemy of one of the most dangerous cats in ThunderClan. Good thing he didn't know you were a kittypet, or he would've really beat you up. Only me and Brightsong and Lighteningstar know so far. Stonepaw's going to be real mad when he finds out, though." Yikes. Sure, I'd fought some, but I still had a ton less experience that Stonepaw did, if he spent all his time training like Sagepaw said apprentices did. I'd lose for sure…

I wanted something to distract me from thoughts of Stonepaw gloating as he pinned me down. Sickening. "What's a kittypet?" I asked, rolling the word around. I didn't like it; it had an unfriendly ring to it. Sagepaw looked at me apologetically.

"It's what we call cats who live with Twolegs, or as you call them, housefolk. It's generally used as an insult. Speaking of which, if you're a kitty- um, I mean, housecat," he hastily corrected himself at my expression, "then why don't you have a collar? I heard that all housecats have collars."

I shrugged. "I had one, but I didn't like it. Nasty, scratchy, pinchy thing. So I got my housefolk to get rid of it."

Sagepaw blinked. "Oh."

"And what's StarClan?"

"They're our warrior ancestors," Sagepaw explained.

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a moment before a high meow sounded outside the den.

"StarClan above, Sagepaw, she's finally awake and you didn't get me?"

A beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat padded into the den, bright green eyes flashing indignantly, jaws clamped around a bunch of herbs, which she quickly put away. Sagepaw quickly apologized; Brightsong scolded him for a moment before letting him off the hook and turning her attention to me.

"Hello, young one. I'm Brightsong." Her eyes flashed with warmth.

"Um…hi," I replied. "Good to meet you."

"I was out speaking to Lighteningstar when you were awake yesterday. Sagepaw tells me your name is Sa-ra?"

I sighed. I was starting to get fed up with this. "No, my name is _Sara_."

"Oh, my apologies," Brightsong mewed. "Sorry, Sara."

I nodded once in acceptance.

"Is your burn feeling better?" she asked, suddenly all business. She padded up to me and inspected it critically, Sagepaw waiting anxiously for the verdict.

It wasn't as good as my vet would've made it feel, but I didn't want to hurt Sagepaw's feelings. "A bit, with the new poultice and all," I said. "Sagepaw did a good job." Sagepaw looked down bashfully.

Brightsong smiled. "That he did. Good news," she added. I looked up hopefully. Would they let me go home?

"It's only a second-degree burn," she continued. My hopeful expression fell a bit. Good news, I guess, but not what I was hoping for. "It should heal in another half-moon or so. It'll be sensitive to sunlight for a while, but it should be healed by then."

"And my fur?" I asked quickly. I wasn't going to have to walk around with a huge bald spot for the rest of my life, right?

"It should be totally grown back within two or three moons," Brightsong replied. "It'll start growing back soon, but it won't be completely back to normal for another three moons."

Three moons…I mean, months. I could deal with that. It sure sounded a lot better than looking like a half-shaved moron until I died. Soon I'd have my fur back!

Brightsong blinked at me as I yawned. My fight with Stonepaw had tired me out like nobody's business. "Do you want poppy seeds again, or do you want to sleep on your own?" she asked.

I hesitated. "Hmm…I'll do poppy seeds again. One more night."

"Okay," Brightsong agreed and brought out a few of the tiny black seeds. "Lick these up, then."

I quickly lapped them up, tasting the cold, earthy flavor of the cave floor as I did. Almost immediately I felt sleepier.

"Good night," I heard Sagepaw and Brightsong chorus. I blinked wearily up at them, then fell asleep.

**Ooh! Sara's got a rival now! What'll happen next???**

**Review plz plz plz with a cherry on top!!**


	6. Chapter 4

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I love reading what you have to say!**

**_  
Chapter Four_**

I pushed the mouse Sagepaw had brought me away with a sigh. I didn't want to seem ungrateful, but eating dead food like that didn't appeal to me. The eyes creeped me out. I wanted my delicious, pink, savory tuna that didn't have eyes that seemed to stare at me as I ate it, and my bowl of nice cold cream that didn't taste like moss (every time I wanted a drink, it was a ball of moss soaked in a stream).

I just wanted to go home.

I had now been stuck in the medicine cat's den for two weeks. The little lost burned kittypet in the medicine cat's den was becoming less of a novelty and more and more accepted. Before, every visitor would stare at me in open enmity, curiosity, sympathy, or pity; now, I was more or less ignored. I had mixed feelings about that; I was half-glad and half-sad – on one paw, it meant less staring and snide remarks, but on the other it would've given me something remotely exciting to break the monotony of being stuck in Brightsong's cave. Stonepaw hadn't stopped by again, either; I had mixed feelings about that, too – the good: not having to fight him and lose because I wasn't battle-training every moment of the day like him. The bad: it would've been a source of excitement. At least his not coming showed that he was scared of me; that thought gave me immense pleasure.

Brightsong told me over and over again how lucky I was those warriors (Brightsong told me their names were Pebblefur, Whitefoot, and Barkfang) found me so quickly or my burn might've never healed; or if it had, I would've been severely scarred with no chance of my fur growing back. Yikes. As it was, though, my burn had almost healed – it had lost a lot of its redness, soreness and its raw, blistered look, but there was still another week to go before Brightsong would let me go. One week until freedom.

One week was too long to wait.

I was going to go crazy soon if I didn't do something that wasn't playing catch-the-moss-ball with Sagepaw when Brightsong's back was turned, learning the names and uses of who-knows-how-many herbs when they treated someone, eating, or sleeping.

I jerked out of my thoughts and looked up as Brightsong padded in after seeing one of the elders about a bellyache. "Hello, Sara," Brightsong greeted, putting away some herbs she hadn't had to use and speaking quietly, so as not to wake Sagepaw, who was sleeping in his nest.

I yawned. "Hello," I replied. "How was Mudfur?" I'd learned the names of nearly everyone in ThunderClan.

"Doing better. I think it was just a bad piece of fresh-kill he ate. He'll survive."

"Mmm."

Brightsong squinted at me. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

She walked over to me, turning over my uneaten mouse with her paw. "Are you sure?"

She batted it closer, but I turned my head away. "Yeah. Just not very hungry," I mumbled.

Brightsong grunted disbelievingly and checked me over. "You're healing well," she muttered to herself. "Hmm…" She prodded my burn lightly, nodding as I didn't flinch. It was still tender, but it had lost the pass-out-if-you-touch-it pain response. "Still not sleeping okay?"

Every night I didn't take a poppy seed or two, I had nightmares about the fire and roasting alive. Not the best, most peaceful dream you could ever have. "Um...not really." The words stuck in my throat like a tough piece of meat. I hated admitting my weaknesses, just like I hated admitting my feelings. Made me feel all vulnerable.

Brightsong nodded; she'd suspected as much, from my twitching and screaming when I slept without the dreamless effect of poppy seeds. "You know," she continued, "I think you're ready to start moving more." She fixed me with a stern gaze. "The key word is more. Don't go crazy or you'll hurt yourself and you'll have to spend even more time here. I'll double check with Lighteningstar, but I think you can start going for walks in the forest and such tomorrow."

As I watched her leave the den to go make sure it was okay, the wheels started to turn. I hadn't left for home yet because I'd been too injured, I was being watched closely by Brightsong, and I would've passed out if I tried; but now I could. Now that I was being semi-ignored by the rest of the Clan, Brightsong had stopped checking up on me as much as she had before, and my burn was basically healed, I might just make it! After all, I knew the basic way home from what Sagepaw had told me about ThunderClan's territory, and besides, I could always sniff it out if I had to.

One I'd made a decision, I stuck to it like glue and gave it my all – it was almost impossible to change my mind once I had it fixed on something, and this time was no different. The lazy, bored feeling I'd had earlier disappeared as my heartbeat quickened in anticipation. My paws itched to get going, even though there was no way I could possibly leave until nighttime. I quickly gulped down my mouse, fighting the urge to gag. I would need that energy when I left. After I finished, I twisted my head around to give my fur a good wash, giving special attention to my burn. There was a thin layer of fuzz over it - my fur had alreadly started to grow back.

Brightsong padded in looking cheerful. "It's all settled. You can go out with Sagepaw tomorrow and help him gather herbs." I twitched my ears to show I'd heard, continuing on with my wash. I half-debated leaving the next day when I would be out with Sagepaw, but I tossed that idea out almost immediately; I didn't want him to get blamed for letting me escape.

Brightsong paused and sighed in satisfaction when she saw my mouse, now just a pile of bones and scraps of fur.

"Good to see you're feeling hungry now," she meowed and padded into the crevice to clean out the herb stockpile.

When I finished grooming, I looked at the sky, or what I could see of it from inside Brightsong's den. It would be evening in a few hours. I'd leave late during the night, when the guards would be tired and everyone else would be sleeping. Then I'd roll in some toadstools or something to disguise my scent, and I'd be homeward bound.

**The usual: likey/no likey? Mistakes? Comments? Please review! I'll update soon!**


	7. Chapter 5

**Thanks for reviewing, everyone who did! And everyone who didn't, please review!**

**_Chapter Five_**

I hadn't been outside the medicine cat den before, but Sagepaw had told me so much about the camp and other Clan things I felt like I'd lived here my whole life. I snuck out through the gigantic sandy area/Clan litterbox behind the nursery, because from what Sagepaw said, I figured this way was safest - the sentry at the camp entrance would just think it was someone going out to use the litterbox and he wouldn't be able to see me leave from where he sat at his post.

I don't know why, but when I reached the top of the top of the ravine that ThunderClan's camp was tucked into, I stopped and looked back. I almost felt sorry to be leaving – I'd made some good friends (namely, Sagepaw and Brightsong) and it felt weird to just leave, without saying good-bye. But remembering how awkward that good-bye conversation would be made it a bit easier. I just wanted to go home, and if I told them so, I was sure they'd do everything to stop me. And besides, we were as different as could be, polar opposites. They just didn't understand why I loved my life with my housefolk, although they tried, and I just couldn't understand why they loved their life. Well, I guess I kinda could, the freedom and all, but why they wanted to fight for every scrap of food and territory and wonder if they would survive the next winter made absolutely no sense to me. I would miss them, but I wouldn't miss that way of life.

I knew they couldn't see me or hear me, but I waved my tail in farewell and whispered "Good-bye" under my breath. It made me feel a tiny bit better. Then I turned and padded into the forest.

I didn't look back.

Soon I was maybe half-way to my home, or what Sagepaw called "Twolegplace" (yeah, original, right?). My burn was standing up to the pace well – the skin was stretching more than it had since I'd gotten it and everything, but it didn't hurt, as long as I made sure to not get it poked my twigs and other general forest debris. After nearly a month in ThunderClan, my previously unmistakable kittypet scent had nearly faded, so hopefully that would make me harder to track.

As I trotted farther and farther into the forest, I could almost physically feel my heart lighten more and more. Sure, I was still sad to leave Sagepaw and Brightsong, but who knows? I could probably go see them every now and then. And soon I'd be home!

A gentle lope was the fastest I could go, and soon I was panting, my sides heaving. _Jeez! Staying an entire month in a stone cave will really knock you out of shape_, I thought.

Finally, though, I had reached the edge of the woods. Orange lights peeked out from between the thinning trees, signaling how close to home I was; the smell of gasoline, cars, and Twolegs was starting to reach my nose. An occasional rushing sound meant a car was driving along the road in front of the houses, but here weren't very many; it really wasn't that busy of a road. I knew this place like the back of my paw.

I practically skipped out of the forest and onto the thin strip of clear land bordered by wooden fences on one side and trees, trees, and more trees on the other. My house was just a few houses down, the one with the white-painted wooden fence; I limped as fast as I could towards that line of white pickets, the only thing between me and home. I was almost vibrating, I was purring so hard. I thought I'd missed this place and Mark and Lucy, but I'd never realized how much until I was finally here. I could almost hear the delighted cries, feel the soft stroking of hands on my fur…

I lunged for the top of the fence, but I missed and dropped back to the ground.

This was going to be humiliating. I growled under my breath, berating myself for not exercising more. I'm managed better leaps when I was a kitten! Good thing no one was around to see me huff and puff like a fat, elderly, overweight grandpa cat as I tried to claw my way up.

Not the perfect homecoming I'd imagined.

I crouched, waggled my haunches, and jumped up, sinking my claws into the wood before I could slide back down. There was a bit of undignified scrambling before I made it, hissing through clenched teeth when my burned skin stretched, and finally saw my home.

The ashy, bitter, burned scent must've disappeared over the month, because I had in no way known what was coming. Where I'd lived for literally ever since I could remember, there was nothing but a blackened frame that only in the remotest sense resembled a house.

I just teetered on the edge of the fence posts, staring, feeling completely numb other than a weird sense of horrible, defeated understanding. I knew this would happen. I'd known it, but I'd refused to acknowledge it. I'd been so bent on returning home I never paid any attention to what home would look like.

And what was worse: no smell, no trace of the scent of my housefolk.

No scent. Not even a whiff. They hadn't been here in ages.

I knew they weren't dead – they had left earlier, before the fire started. Which left only one choice.

They had abandoned me. Maybe they hadn't even looked for me after the fire, thinking I had died; but that didn't seem like them. I knew they loved me. They'd probably thought I'd died, but had come to look for me, probably that first day after the fire while I was still conked out in Brightsong's den.

I'd missed them – by about a month. They'd have stopped looking for me now.

Either way, they were gone. And they wouldn't come back. I knew it, just like I'd known that the house was gone - some sixth sense, a gut feeling.

They'd left me. I had no home now.

**Poor Sara! What will she do now??? **

**The usual: review, plz! Pretty please with a cherry - no, a COOKIE, on top! **


	8. Chapter 6

**I'm so, so sorry it's been such a while since I uploaded! Thank my schoolteachers for absoluetly swamping me with homework. **

**Thanks to Nightshade07, Stormstar205, Cucumber Periwinkle, Time in the heart and eyes, stormikat, and .lolcatsrule, for reviewing and such!**

**_Chapter Six_**

There was no reason to stay now, so I half-slid, half-fell off the fence to the ground, still feeling weirdly numb, distant, cold. What on earth could I do now? I thrust back my natural urge to kick the fence and scream. Strangely, I found myself thinking of what Brightsong or Sagepaw would do.

The answer was obvious. They'd look over the different options they had.

Okay. What were my choices?

Go back to the Clans

Try to find another family to live with

Rogue/loner lifestyle.

Almost as soon as I thought of it, I tossed Option C out. I know it sounds pathetic, but I hate being alone. I couldn't stand being all by myself, and besides, I had absolutely no idea how to fend for myself. I'd either starve to death because I wouldn't know how to catch anything, be killed because I couldn't defend myself, or go insane from loneliness. None of those really appealed to me, so being a loner was definitely out.

Okay. Find another family. I almost didn't want to, because none of them would ever be as good as Mark and Lucy had been, but I decided to try.

So. Available housefolk.

Not the house to the right, because of that dog; it would eat me the second the housefolk looked away. And the house to the left already had another cat, a fluffy, fat brown tabby named Clovis. But he was nice, and he wouldn't mind a roommate. We'd chatted several times over the fence, and I counted him as one of my friends.

I padded to Clovis's fence and scrambled up, searching for him in the garden below. He was lucky – his house and garden had survived the fire with only a few charred patches, while mine was completely destroyed. A flicker of jealousy rose inside me. Why had everything happened to me? He still had a home and a family, and mine were gone forever! It wasn't fair!

_Life isn't fair,_ I scolded myself, ruthlessly smothering that little spark of resentment until it died. _So suck it up and get used to it!_

Just then there was a meow and Clovis's cat flap opened, a fluffy brown face with green-yellow eyes poking its head through and blinking. Clovis yawned, lumbered out into the yard and started to wash.

"Hey! Clovis!" I called, leaping down from the fence and loping over.

He looked confused, stopping mid-lick. "Huh? Who are you?"

I trotted over to him, stepping out of the shadows so that he could see me. "Sa-"

He let out a terrified caterwaul and stumbled backwards in a frantic attempt to get away from me. "You're Sara's ghost!" he screeched. "Get away from me! Don't eat me! Leave me alone! Don't haunt me!"

Clovis isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

"No," I protested, trying to calm him down. "I'm not a-"

There was a concerned call from inside the house, then one of Clovis's housefolk flung open the door. Seeing me standing over Clovis, who was crouched on the ground whimpering in terror, its face twisted in an ugly scowl. It reached behind it and hurled something at me. It struck a rock with a metallic clanging sound and bounced, flying my way. I yelped in fright and bounded as fast as my burn would allow for the fence. The thing the guy threw at me – I think it was a pot of some sort – clanked hard against the fence, jouncing it hard and just barely missing my back paws as I scrambled over. The man shouted something, probably along the lines of "Don't come back", and tossed something else after me for good measure, but he didn't have to - I was pelting along the top of the fence to safety. I didn't drop over into the forest because I didn't want to bring trouble for Sagepaw and Brightsong. If the man thought I was from there, he might cause problems trying to ensure that I wouldn't "threaten" Clovis again.

There was no way I was going back over there after that incident. Clovis's house was out.

I was feeling kind of discouraged and sad after that, but I decided to keep on going to see if I could find a home. A few houses down, another friend, Susan, lived; I'd try there next. (I ignored the houses before hers for different reasons – one guy was allergic to cats, another hated them, you get the picture.)

Susan didn't have a cat flap, so I sat down on the top of the fence to wait. Thankfully, before I could get really stiff, her housefolk opened the door for her and out she came, white and ginger patches glowing in the light that spilled out of the doorway. I stretched, jumped down, and walked over to meet her.

"Hey," I called, praying that this wouldn't go like it had with Clovis.

Susan froze. "Who's there?" Her green eyes went big as she saw me. "You're a forest cat!"

I guess my scent had faded even more than I thought. My heart sank.

"I'm-" I started to say, hoping that this wouldn't end badly like it had with Clovis.

"Don't come near me! I'll - I'll fight you!" Susan said, crouching down to the ground, ready to spring if I got too close.

This was getting out of paw. "Um, no, really, I'm-"

"I _will_ fight you! I won't let you eat me!" She hissed fiercely to prove it.

"What makes you think I'm a wild cat?" I asked tightly, trying to keep calm. Why didn't she realize who I was? Clovis had, and he's, well, not that bright. Why didn't Susan know me? We'd been best friends since we were kittens!

"_What makes me think you're a wild cat_? Um, how about everything?" Susan hissed, staring at me through narrowed eyes. "One, you smell like one, two, you have horrible scars, and three, you-"

"Okay! That's enough!" I blinked, feeling miserable. My best friend didn't even recognize me. And was my burn really that hideous? Did I really look like a wild cat? I shifted slightly, so that my burned side was facing away from her, a sense of shame and hurt creeping over me. "Am I really that awful?" I asked softly, talking to myself.

Susan paused and stared at me, sniffing the air again and looking at me closely. A tiny flicker of recognition lit her eyes. "No," she whispered. "You can't be. She's been dead for months now…"

Just then, Susan's housefolk, worried that she hadn't returned yet, opened the door, and saw me.

Susan's housefolk had been over to my housefolks' home a lot, and they knew me. They'd stroked me, held me on their laps, they should recognize me! I quickly trotted in their direction, feeling hopeful.

It didn't last.

The man shouted and kicked at me as the woman dashed out and scooped up Susan and ran back inside. After lashing out with another kick, the man slammed the door shut in my face. I could hear them through the open window before they closed that, too.

"-wild cat-"

"-might be rabid-"

"-call Animal control –"

Now, I'm not a master of the language housefolk use, but I do understand quite a few words and phrases. "Animal Control" is one of them, and definitely not one of those that make me feel happy like "good cat" and "treat" and "pretty girl". I've never had anything to do with Animal Control, but you hear things, awful things; it's like the Place of No Return. Once, I'd seen them chase down and capture this dog out of my window. Its terrified whimpers echoed in my brain now.

I wanted to spit in frustration. This day just kept getting better and better. Sara's already been deprived of her home and family, and rejected once in her quest for another, and her best friend thinks Sara's going to eat her. Of course, that's not nearly bad enough, let's call in Animal Control, too!

I raced for the fence, leaped on top of it, and dashed along it around to the front of the house, facing the street. I bunched up my muscles to dive off and jumped, but I hit the concrete wrong and jarred myself pretty bad. My left hind paw was twisted to the side as I landed, and I clenched my teeth together to stop my shriek of pain.

Guess what happened next? If your answer was Susan's housefolk run out the front door and toss a box over me as I try to stumble away on a twisted paw, then you're right.

I huddled in the darkness in one of the corners. I could hear the housefolk talking next to my box.

"When did they say they'd get here?"

"Twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes and I'd be on a one-way express to my doom.

I hissed softly in the darkness, unsheathing my claws, feeling them scrape over the concrete. I wasn't going to go without a fight.

I spent those twenty minutes gingerly washing and stretching out my twisted paw and thinking of ways to escape, getting read to bolt at a moment's notice. When I heard the roar of the engine and the reek of gasoline after what seemed like hours (time passes really slowly when you're trapped in a box black as night and waiting for the execution squad to come and get you), a shiver ran through my spine, raising my fur. I sat up, stretched quickly to get rid of the stiffness my body from lying on cold, hard rock, and tensed. As soon as they lifted the box enough for me to squeeze through, I'd be gone.

I heard doors slamming, muffled words I couldn't make out. Then the box slowly inched off the ground. I bunched up my muscles, preparing to spring.

Then a hand, heavily gloved (so much for attacking), shot into the box and started groping around for me. But it was a big box, so I had a little room to evade him. But soon he'd get me. I flattened myself as much as I could against the side of the box, the cardboard rough on my fur.

There was a little space on either side of his arm that I could squish past, but he'd surely grab me with his other hand. There had to be more than one of them, but where were the others?

Suddenly I had an idea – a lightbulb moment, if you will. I slowly limped up to the hand, clenching my teeth against the pain in my paw, and rubbed against the rough glove, purring as loudly as I could. There was a sound of surprise as the big hand gently scooped me up and drew me outside; thankfully, he didn't grip me too hard - my burn was still tender.

It took every ounce of will to not resist and stay relaxed, as my brain was screaming, _He'll take you away! You'll never see Sagepaw again! You're, like, fraternizing with the enemy! What's wrong with you?! _I felt swamped with terror and helplessness, even anger at myself for getting in this situation. For a moment, I couldn't breathe, and I swore I was going to pass out. Then Sagepaw's face rose up in my head; I'd never see him again if I didn't focus and get myself out of the mess I'd created. I let out a huge breath, feeling the worst of my runaway emotions leave with it, and studied my captor.

The man, a tall, heavily-built guy with brown hair, eyes, a kind face, and dressed in a green jumpsuit, made soothing sounds and stroked my fur. I kept up the friendly charade, pressing against his hand, pretending to beg for more. He laughed and obliged.

I sighed in pleasure. Oh, it felt so good to be stroked again, to be held. I knew I'd missed it, but I'd never realized how much. Then I remembered what they'd do to me – they'd kill me, take me to somewhere I couldn't escape. No, no matter how nice they appeared, they were the bad guys. They were The Enemy.

I was right about there being more than one of them. My captor had a friend. "Hey, Jim, careful. It might still scratch your eyes out," he warned, his hand hovering over a tranquilizer gun strapped to his hip. Gulp.

"Then why wasn't it fighting when I got it out of the box? It was totally unafraid and friendly," Jim pointed out. "Did you ever see a cat doing that?"

His buddy didn't have anything to say to that. Score one for the cat.

"It's definitely not aggressive," continued Jim, chuckling as I purred harder and sniffed his glove when he held it out to me.

"It might be rabid," Jim's buddy protested half-heartedly. "It's not afraid of you; no fear of natural enemies is a sign of rabies."

"No. It's not foaming, it's not fighting, it's not paralyzed-" Jim's friend was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. "-it's been eating and drinking, its pupils aren't dilated, it's not constantly growling, it's not restless or erratic; none of the other signs are here…it's not rabid. It's probably just a housecat someone abandoned, although why anyone would want to abandon this little sweetie's beyond me." I decided I liked Jim. I'd have liked him better if he wasn't an Agent of Death sent to take me to my doom.

"Then why was it attacking Susan, if it's so nice?" the female housefolk demanded.

"Her," corrected Jim, now scratching my ears, "Not it. I don't think she was attacking. She was probably just being friendly and Susan got territorial. Did you see them actually fighting?"

"No," said the male housefolk uncertainly, "But Susan was hissing and had her claws out."

"Yeah, she was probably warning this sweetie to stay away." Gosh, it feels good to be flattered, although I felt kind of guilty – it did happen that way, in a sense, but it wasn't really true. But you wouldn't catch me telling them what really happened, not when things were finally starting to go well. If they thought I was harmless, they'd let me go, right?

To my glee, I noticed that Susan's housefolk looked a little miffed. Susan, peering in through the window and eavesdropping in on the conversation, looked embarrassed. We used to joke about how overprotective her housefolk were. Now, it wasn't so funny, now that I'd actually gotten caught by them.

"You'll still take her in, though?" asked the female.

"Yeah, we will."

I gasped. Even after my brilliant ploy, they were going to kill me?!

Jim held me up to his eye level and inspected me, gasping at my burn and twisted paw. "Poor little thing, looks like it had a rough time."

I checked again for chances of escape. Jim's grip had relaxed just enough for me to scramble out; the metal pole his buddy held in his hand was held loosely at his side. They weren't expecting me to do anything now.

I flailed suddenly, trying not to scratch Jim, and slipped to the ground, letting out a tiny mewl as I landed on my paw, then went as fast as I could for the fence. Run, _ouch_, run, _ouch, _run, _ouch_. They were still staring in shock as I disappeared over the fence, crossed the backyard, and over the fence into the forest.

My heart was breaking as I left behind my home, my family, my friends, for the second time. And this time, I don't think I'd be coming back anytime soon; they'd be looking out for me – the little lost housecat who escaped from the Animal Control agents. I wanted to cry; I was leaving behind everything that had made me, me. I was heading towards a whole new life, one that the kittypet called Sara had no place in.

Because only Option A was left.

Go back to the Clans.

**Poor Sara's having a really tough time....don't make it tougher by not reviewing! You know you want to :)**


	9. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And for those of you who didn't, please do! **

**_Chapter Seven_**

I followed my own scent trail about half-way back to the Clan, until the dam that was holding my emotions at bay sprouted a leak. Much as I hate mushy-gushy displays and cry-fests, I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I scraped myself a nest at the base of a tree and cried myself out until I felt empty and drained and just sick of it all. I leaned back against the tree trunk, needing the feel of something solid and unmovable, and buried my face in my tail, falling asleep almost instantly. I was so exhausted, I didn't even have any nightmares about roasting alive in the fire, like I normally do.

I woke up suddenly when a paw jabbed me roughly in the side, but I pretended to still be asleep. My eyes were itchy and dry from all that crying, and I was feeling really irritable_. _I couldn't have slept for very long, as the insides of my eyelids were still dark, not5 lit up like they would be if it was morning._ I swear, the forest better be on fire, for sake of whoever had the gall to wake me up_, I thought angrily. I waited for the moment when the paw prodded me again, taking care to breathe slowly and keep my muscles relaxed. They'd get a surprise.

"I can't believe she's still asleep." Sharp, whiny female voice. ThunderClan scent.

"Maybe we should just leave. I mean, really, let's just leave her alone." Quiet, soft-spoken tom. ThunderClan scent. Weird – he smelled a bit like Sagepaw.

"Shut it! She deserves this and more!" snarled the last. Can you guess who it was? Yup. Stonehead – I mean, Stonepaw.

The quiet tom sighed. "Why are we even doing this? It's a waste of time. And besides, it's against the warrior code. Lighteningstar wouldn't allow this."

"Gonna go crying to old Lighteningstar like a whining kit?" taunted the female.

"What Lighteningstar doesn't know won't hurt him," growled Stonepaw.

"Fine," the quiet tom meowed. "But leave me out of this. She doesn't deserve it." Pawsteps retreated away.

"Stay where you are!" screeched the female. There was the muted thud of cats colliding and a grunt of pain from the tom, then the sounds of a struggle. I wanted to kick the female's butt for the sake of the tom who'd had the courage and morals to realize this was wrong and try to leave.

"Lower your voice, Russetpaw!" Stonepaw hissed. "Do you want the whole forest to hear? And as for you, Larchpaw-" The name rang a bell, but I couldn't figure out how I knew it. "-I'm sure you want to leave Sagepaw out of this." That's it – he was Sagepaw's brother! My belly clenched in rage to hear Stonepaw threaten Sagepaw. Just let him try it!

Larchpaw froze, judging from the stop of the struggling sounds, and Russetpaw gave a triumphant hiss.

"Got anything else to say, Larch_kit_?" Russetpaw snarled.

Larchpaw didn't say a word.

Stonepaw growled in victory. I imagined his yellow eyes narrowed in spite and I pictured wiping his smirk off with a well-aimed slice of my claws, and a hot, anticipating feeling boiled in my stomach. A heartbeat later Stonepaw's paw hit me hard in my ribs – hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to knock the wind out of my lungs.

I instantly leaped to my paws, my stiff muscles screaming in protest, and lunged for Stonepaw. I completely bowled him off his paws, and the look of shock on his face was absolutely priceless. I knew I wouldn't last in a fight, since I had no combat training whatsoever and I was so out of shape and there were two of them and one of me, so I didn't try to, even though my claws itched to bury themselves in their fur.

I hate logic. Takes all the fun out of everything.

So instead of fighting them, I just trampled over Stonepaw and kept running, straight for Russetpaw, a red she-cat with green eyes, who was staring at me in total surprise with her mouth half-open. I dived for her, and ripped her roughly off Larchpaw, who stared at me in amazement and astonishment. Gosh, he was handsome.

I gasped out a hurried "Thanks!" in his sleek, light gray ear, then dashed away just as Stonepaw was climbing to his feet, his face twisted with rage.

"See you later, suckers!" I yowled, racing away as fast as I could. I whooped again, just for the exhilarating feeling of running as fast as you can go, with the wind blowing my ears back and whipping at my fur. This does not include running in terror – nope, just the joy of running because you can. It was even better now, because I'd been cooped up in the medicine cat den for so long – I'd kept myself to a lope on the way to "Twolegplace" because that had been the fastest I'd been able to go. Or so I thought. The first few strides had burned like fire, as my poor un-exercised un-stretched legs exercised and stretched, but once I hit my stride, it quit hurting and was actually really fun.

But sooner rather than later, I absolutely had to stop. My legs were like soup, my muscles all shaky, and a horrible stitch in my chest was getting worse and worse. So I slid to a stop, scattering dead leaves everywhere, and collapsed, gasping for air. Once I'd semi-gotten my breath back, I got to my paws and walked on, hating the slowness of walking compared to running. In the excitement of totally humiliating Stonepaw again, I'd forgotten why I was even out in the forest in the first place, but now all the memories from last night piled up and crashed down on my shoulders like a ten-ton weight. And besides that, I was way worried for Sagepaw and Larchpaw. I hoped Stonepaw wouldn't take out his fury at my escape out on them. I would rip him apart if he hurt them, but how could I, a lost, homeless kittypet, protect anyone? What if he'd already hurt Larchpaw? I hoped he had the good sense to run away once I'd ripped Russetpaw off him. I felt hopeless, defeated, alone.

I wanted to cry again.

The sun was edging over the top of the trees by the time I made it back to the camp's site – thankfully without any other emotional breakdowns. I'd planned on entering silently and sneaking back to Brightsong's den, with no one knowing I'd ever gone anywhere, but that didn't happen - as soon as I crested the top of the ravine, Sagepaw came barreling up. He almost knocked me over, he was so happy to see me. A warm feeling bubbled up in my chest, temporarily pushing back the disappointment and anger and worry I felt, and I purred back at Sagepaw, play-wrestling with him for a few minutes. Then he climbed off, smoothing his fur, and let me clamber to my feet, shaking the dust from my coat as the crushing sense of defeat settled back on my shoulders.

"I was so worried!" Sagepaw burst out. "I wanted to go after you, but Brightsong said to let you be. I was starting to think you wouldn't come back!"

A little voice in my head said something was weird here, but I couldn't figure out what, so I ignored it and tried to think of how to answer Sagepaw. I couldn't hurt him by telling him that if I could've, I would've left the forest behind me in an instant. So I just put on what I hoped was a light-hearted smile and joked, "What would've made you think that?"

He shuffled his paws in the dirt self-consciously. "Well, when you saw your Twoleg nest was destroyed, you might've gone to find a new home." An icy feeling popped my happy bubble. "Brightsong promised you'd come back, but I didn't really believe her. But she was right!" He beamed at me, then shyly licked my ears. Normally, I would've been like, _He licked me! Squee!_ But I hardly realized what he was doing.

The ice spread from my chest to my paws, to the tip of my tail. Sagepaw didn't realize that my smile was gone, that something was wrong. But then he felt me tense and he stepped back, sensing that something wasn't quite right, and looked at me quizzically, waiting for me to speak. The sense of weirdness I'd felt earlier was suddenly crystal clear. How had he known I was gone? How did he know that I might've not come back?

"You knew?" My voice was a tiny squeak that didn't express my shock and horror as quite as strongly as I wanted it to. "You _knew _my house was gone?"

He looked a little confused. "Yeah. The day after the warriors brought you here, they led a patrol by to see the damage. The whole Clan's known it for moons."

The ice was very, very quickly being melted away by a fire of rage that burned inside my chest. He knew, and he hadn't told me? Everyone had known, but no one had bothered to even tell the cat who had lived there? I could've been spared this horrible, tight, heavy weight that pressed me to the ground from seeing the fire's destruction? _Why had no one told me?! _"You never told me?" I hissed.

Sagepaw blinked at the sudden venom in my voice. "Yes," he meowed hesitatingly. "If we'd told you, you wouldn't have believed us, and you would've gone anyway."

I didn't care that he was right. They still should've told me. This was worse. _"Oh, Sara, don't worry, you'll be able to go home soon!" _All that was a _lie_. They'd pretended my home was still there, that I could go back to it. My hopes had shattered, leaving me feeling empty inside – going home was what I'd lived for, what got me through each day. If they'd told me, at least I would've had _some _idea of what to expect. My hopes wouldn't have been so high and had so far to fall.

"Why does that matter?!" I yelled, and Sagepaw jumped. "If you were a true friend, if you cared for me _at all_, you would've told me! You know how important my home was to me, how much I wanted to get back! And you – you let me go on believing it! You _lied_ to me!" Some part of my mind whispered that I was being a little unfair, that he'd only wanted to protect me, but everything that had happened to me just piled up and suddenly it was too much_. And besides_, I screamed at that little voice, _I don't need protecting!_

Sagepaw padded forward and tried to press his fur against mine, but I backed away blindly, my eyes spilling over with hot tears. Again. "Don't touch me!" I cried, and Sagepaw stepped back, deeply hurt. I felt almost sorry, until I remembered how he'd betrayed me, and then I wanted him to be hurt, to feel what I was feeling.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I turned and shoved past him, bounding down the ravine, stumbling over loose rocks and stones I'd missed, tears leaving tracks in my fur. The stitch was back in my chest, but I almost relished it. Anything to take my mind off Sagepaw's betrayal. I slipped in from behind the nursery, the way I'd left, and raced across the camp to Brightsong's den. I curled up in my nest, turned to the wall, hid my face in my tail, and cried. Sometimes later, I heard Sagepaw come in, smelled his sweet scent, but I didn't turn around or acknowledge him in any way. So he sighed sadly and walked past.

I didn't know what, but something had changed in the way I felt about Sagepaw. A burning resentment boiled in my stomach, almost covering up the way my heart felt like it had been backed over by a car and then put through the shredder. Honesty had always been important to me, had always been something I valued more than almost anything else. I hated lies, tried to never tell them, and hated being lied to. Sagepaw should've realized how important that was to me!

It was that vulnerable feeling again, that you feel after realizing that you were lied to – if he lied to me about something this important, how else had he lied? How could you tell? And then there was the feeling of stupidity and disgust at myself, that I'd actually believed them! That I'd let my hopes get so high! I felt like my well of trust was nearing bone-dryness. Even Brightsong had lied to me. Everyone I'd started to trust, to like, had yanked the wool over my eyes.

I kept my face safely hidden in my fur as I heard the camp start to buzz with the duties typical Clan day, listened as warriors called to one another, as elders grouched at some unlucky apprentice, as queens scolded their kits, until I had gotten a hold over myself. I really needed to stop the breakdowns – I could count the number of times I'd cried on one paw, and now twice in one night? I felt like I didn't know myself anymore.

I think sometime I'd dozed off, because when I peeked over my tail again it was almost evening. My eyes were still a bit dry and gosh, I was sore, but I was feeling more like myself. I stretched, yawned, and started to give myself a thorough wash. Sagepaw and Brightsong were gone, probably to go get herbs or see to some injured cat, but I didn't care about them anymore. I finished my wash and sat in my nest again, feeling refreshed, and was debating about going out to get a mouse or something when a new cat that I'd never seen before stepped inside the den, a black and white tom with yellow eyes.

"If you're looking for Sagepaw or Brightsong," I muttered, "they're gone." I never felt truly comfortable around the Clan cats, now even more so, and wished this one would leave and quit staring at me. But he didn't.

"I'd like to talk to you," he meowed, voice quiet and gentle, but at the same time stern with natural authority. This wasn't someone to cross. "Would you come with me to my den?"

I blinked. No one had wanted to have anything to do with me, much less talk with me. "Who are you?" I asked, curiosity sparked.

"I'm Lighteningstar."

**Sorry it was kinda long...but anywho, what'd you think? Yes, no, maybe so? Please review! If you're taking the time to read this, why not take a few more seconds and just tell me what you think? This month, I've had 59 hits, so 56 of you didn't review my last chapter! **

**I'll try to update soon, but I've got to update Shadows and Starlight, too...**


	10. Chapter 8

**Thanks to stormikat, mynameistooawesome, NewProphecy, Meadowpaw, Cucumber Periwinkle, Nightshade07, and xXThunderspiritXx for reviewing! I loved reading your reviews!**

_**Chapter Eight**_

Lighteningstar settled himself comfortably in his nest, gesturing with his tail to sit across from him. I did, a bit reluctantly. Was he going to punish me for going back to Twolegplace? Had I escaped the Agents of Death (aka Animal Control. I don't see why they were called in the first place. Was I doing something that needed 'controlling'? No.) just to die at the claws of another cat? My old hot-headed "I'm not going to go without a fight!" impulse was rising, but then, a tiny voice wondered what the point was. Sagepaw, Brightsong, the whole crazy Clan had betrayed me, I had no home, no one wanted me. What was there to fight for?

I listened to that voice in horror. Who was I and what had I done with the real Sara? _No! I'm NOT going to back down like a…like a Stonepaw! Are you a cat or are you a mouse? _The tiny pessimistic voice knew when defeat was inevitable, so it shut itself up, but I was on a roll now – I was _not_ going to quietly lay down and wait for Lighteningstar to kill me! No way, José!

Just when I was all fired up and waiting for him to spring, Lighteningstar spoke up.

"I'm not going to bite," he chuckled, eyeing me in amusement, whiskers twitching.

I blinked, then shrugged uncomfortably. Wasn't he going to kill me?

"So," Lighteningstar continued, tucking his paws under his chest, "have you decided what you're going to do?"

Huh? I blinked in confusion. "Um, aren't you going to kill me for sneaking away?" I asked. The answer would be better than waiting for him to start clawing me.

"Great StarClan, no," he exclaimed. "What do you think we are, complete barbarians?" He glared at me in indignation.

I was about to say something along the lines of _Um, aren't you, in a way?_ _You eat dead animals, live in the woods, use musty old leaves for medicine, and kill each other for territory! _but decided against it. If he wasn't going to all of a sudden start attacking me for trying to escape last night, I wasn't about to provoke him. I'd had too many near-death experiences now to throw my life away. I wasn't sure how you apologized to a leader, so I awkwardly ducked my head.

Lighteningstar sharply nodded once in acceptance. "Anyway," he meowed, reverting back to his original question, "are you going to join the Clan? We don't have room for an empty mouth, what with leaf-bare coming on. Every cat must pull his – or her – weight."

"I have no other choice," I muttered, to show him that yes, I would stay, but I didn't particularly want to. Just so that there were no secrets between us.

He purred in sympathy, so unexpectedly I jumped. "I know it must be hard," he said, "but I need you to work your best if you join. You must give your all to the Clan."

"…Okay." I'd never really worked hard in my life, since I hadn't had anything to work for (unless you count last night. Getting to Twolegplace had been hard work.)

Lighteningstar scrutinized me, making me feel like I was being X-rayed – but instead of seeing my bones like the vet did, he was seeing all my reluctance, my hatred for Stonepaw and his cronies, despair for my home, my hurt and betrayed feelings for Sagepaw, all those bitter emotions that gnawed at my heart. I fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Alright," he agreed finally. My breath whooshed out in relief. "We'll hold your apprentice ceremony at sunset. This is what will happen: I will call the Clan to a meeting from the top of the Highrock – you stand right under me, on the ground. Once all every cat has gathered, I'll give you your apprentice, or Clan, name. You will no longer be called Sara – you will be whatever name I choose to give you."

I gulped. Give up my name? My last link to my housefolk, my home? I wasn't fully sure I could do that, and I told him so.

"You'll have to, or the Clan won't accept you," Lighteningstar said flatly, although he still looked sympathetic. I felt a sudden rush of anger towards him – how could he possibly know or sympathize what I'd gone and was going through?! I slowly released my breath in a long, drawn out hiss, and I felt a gaping hole of sadness in my heart as the rage disappeared as quickly as it had come. Let's keep the mood swings coming, shall we?

Lighteningstar gave me a minute to have what he said fully sink in, then explained, "They won't trust you unless you truly become one of them, and that includes giving up your name."

I blinked back tears, swiping my paw over my whiskers to hide my expression while I got it under control. I wasn't going to act like a complete kit in front of the Clan leader. "What will my name be?" I asked, proud that my voice was steady. Despite myself, I was actually a little bit curious as to what I'd be named. I hoped it was something good.

Lighteningstar smiled. "Whatever name I choose to give you," he repeated.

Oookay. Why thank you, Mr. Informative. Was everyone in this forest trying to frustrate me until I snapped? 'Cause let me tell you, it was working.

"I'll then say the name of your mentor - the cat who will teach you our ways, how to hunt, how to fight. He – or she – will step forward, and you will touch your nose with his or hers," Lighteningstar continued. "The Clan will normally start to call out your new name, and will congratulate you and your mentor, but-"

"-since I'm not one of them, they probably won't," I finished for him - it wasn't surprising, really. Did I even want them to accept me? I had no answer to that question. "Who will my mentor be?" I asked.

"Whoever I choose to give you."

Grrrr. Would it hurt to be a little more specific? I mean, seriously! Everyone who wants to keep Sara in the dark, raise your paw! Oh, it looks like everybody did!

Lighteningstar stared at me. "Do you understand? Will you become an apprentice?"

I hesitated. What I said now would determine the course of my whole life.

No pressure.

I knew what I had to say, but that didn't make it easy. I still had a chance to back out…_No! You know what you've got to do, so suck it up and do it!_ "Yes," I finally said.

Lighteningstar nodded. "Welcome, then." What he said next shocked me again, although you would think I would've gotten over being constantly surprised.

"ThunderClan is lucky to have you."

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Lighteningstar stood straight and tall on top of the big boulder so originally named the "Highrock." The setting sun lit up his white and black fur, making it gleam, and he looked just how I would've imagined a leader would look like. I was sitting right below it, trying hard to flatten my nervously bristling fur.

Sagepaw and Brightsong hurried out of their den – I guess they'd returned while I was with Lighteningstar – and Sagepaw looked really down. A spark of resentment flared up at the sight of him, but at the same time I was glad Stonepaw hadn't hurt him. Larchpaw padded up, too, thankfully looking none the worse for wear – a little tired, maybe, but not like a cat that a vengeful, arrogant apprentice had beat up. Whew. Stonepaw and Russetpaw stalked to the middle of the camp, shooting furious glares at Larchpaw and then at me when they realized I was there. I glared right back, barely holding back a snicker when Stonepaw looked away, unable to hold my gaze.

As the rest of the Clan gathered, some shot me hostile looks, some glanced at me curiously wondering why I was underneath the Highrock, but most ignored me. I was never one to back down – I sat up straight and tall, meeting the eyes of every cat who looked at me. What did I care about how they felt about me? They didn't define who I was.

"Sara has been living in our camp for a moon now," Lighteningstar meowed, beginning the meeting. "She has nowhere else to go, and has asked to join ThunderClan as an apprentice."

There was an instant outbreak of protesting yowls. Lighteningstar waved his tail for silence, and reluctantly the Clan quieted down. A lot of them were openly glaring at me now.

Lighteningstar plowed right on. I guess he thought that if he left it too long, the Clan would flat-out refuse and throw me out. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. She would like to become a warrior of ThunderClan, but must first become an apprentice. Sara, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Mothpaw, because your coat is like the pale flash of a moth's wing." Mothpaw….at least it wasn't something dumb, like Bumblepaw, or Rabbitpaw. You know, I actually liked it.

A little bit.

I felt all weird inside, though – I was no longer and would never be Sara ever again. Who was I now? Not the naïve kittypet I'd been when I was first brought to the Clan. Who was I?

"Brackenfoot, you will train Mothpaw. Whitefoot was your mentor. I hope that her patience and quick thinking will pass through you to your new apprentice."

A golden-brown she-cat stepped forward reluctantly, looking a little insulted at having to train the injured kittypet, and all of a sudden my mind went blank. _Uh……._What was I supposed to do now, again?

The silence seemed to stretch on for years. Brackenfoot looked more and more awkward and embarrassed as the seconds went by, and I still had no idea what to do next. _Come on, think! _

"Touch noses with her," came a quiet whisper from my right. I blinked and glanced over in that direction, and Larchpaw gave me an encouraging grin.

I scrambled to my paws, trying hard to hold on to my last shreds of dignity, and reached up to touch my nose to Brackenfoot's. She bent her head down at the same time, and our noses collided – painfully. My eyes watered with pain, and I saw Brackenfoot's eyes tear up, too. I sure hoped first impressions didn't count for much with the Clan, because I was now sure that I had looked like a stupid, scatter-brained squirrel.

Lighteningstar, Brightsong, Sagepaw, and Larchpaw all started cheering my name, and a few other cats followed their lead – one or two sounded friendly, and like they actually didn't want to bite my head off, but most were grudging, growling my name under their breaths or spitting it out like it was poison.- two certain apprentices among them. Stonepaw looked even more furious, Russetpaw appalled, at Lighteningstar's accepting me into ThunderClan. Prideful, arrogant grouches. Being born in a Clan isn't everything, you know! I surprised myself by actually wanting to prove myself to them, if only to shatter their stupid stereotypes. _Let's just see who the better cat is! _

As the Clan 'cheered' for me, I whispered my name under my breath.

"Mothpaw."

I was Mothpaw now.

* * *

Brackenfoot showed me to the apprentices' den (a big patch of ferns) and disappeared. What a helpful mentor I'd gotten. _Okay…what do I do now?_ I hesitantly padded inside.

Stonepaw, Russetpaw, Larchpaw, and a pale tabby she-cat were already there, curling up on moss beds, washing, or, in the case of two certain individuals, holding an angry-sounding whispered conversation that I was positive was about me and shooting death-glares in my direction. I growled softly. I was going to have to share sleeping space with those two nutcases? Great. Just great.

I stalked past them and tried to find a comfy, sheltered, slightly apart nesting place. I finally found one, towards the back. But how was I going to get moss for a nest? I decided to ask the pale tabby. Larchpaw would help, I was sure, but I didn't want Stonepaw to get mad at him again. It would be nice to have a roommate who wasn't out for my blood or was targeted for a beating-up if I spoke to him.

"Hi," I said, padding up to her. "Um, where's the moss?"

The pale tabby jumped and looked up at me in a weird mixture of terror and admiration. "Just grab some of the unused stuff," she whispered, looking back at Stonepaw and Russetpaw so much it looked like she had a twitch.

"Okay…thanks. What's your name?"

"Brindlepaw," she mumbled.

"Okay. Thanks, Brindlepaw. What's with the jumpiness?"

"Stonepaw and Russetpaw hate you," she muttered. "And nobody messes with Stonepaw and Russetpaw unless they've got a death wish."

"Oh." Lovely. Looked like my roommate had a deathly fear of my other roommates. This was going to make for an interesting den.

"Except for you," she added.

"What?"

"You stood up to them, and you didn't get pummeled," she explained, staring at me in wonder. "I wish I was as brave as you."

I shrugged uncomfortably. How do you reply to that? "Uh…thanks."

Brindlepaw nodded.

I snagged some moss and dragged it over to my chosen sleeping area, making a comfortable nest for myself - after carefully inspecting it. I wouldn't put it past Stonepaw to sneak some thorns or ants in my bedding.

I washed myself, the fuzz over my burn tickling my tongue, and curled up, wriggling to get comfortable. I couldn't blame Brindlepaw for being so afraid. If Stonepaw and Russetpaw were her roommates ever since she was born (according to Sagepaw, apprentices were usually denmates as kits, too), no wonder she was so terrified. Maybe once I got to know her better, she'd loosen up a bit. I hoped so – she seemed nice, just really jumpy.

Sigh. My time as an official apprentice of ThunderClan hadn't gotten off to a good start, to say the least.

**Review! Like it, hate it, love it? **


	11. Chapter 9

**I'm SO, SO sorry I haven't updated in a month! My reasons: a) practically every time I found a large, uninterrupted widow of time to just sit down and work on it, I had to get off or a member of my rather large family got to it before I could, b) high school, c) every time I tried to start this chapter, what I wrote just didn't feel right, d) my grandma got really sick and I need to help take care of my family, e) homework, f) homework, and g) homework.**

**Forgive me??? Please?**

**And silverstarfan, I know it's a bit boring at the moment, but it'll be getting some action soon enough. This won't be a very exciting chapter, more of a filler, but better ones will be coming up.**

_**Chapter Nine**_

I worked my paws into the soft sand of the training hollow, enjoying the feel of the warm sand running over my sore feet, and sat down next to my mentor. We'd tagged along next to the dawn patrol so Brackenfoot could show me the territory, and she'd taught me the Code along the way. It was pretty close to sunset, with a cool breeze ruffling my fur and the leaves on the arching branches overhead. A jolly, older gray warrior named Graystorm, one of the (very) few who had cheered me during my apprentice ceremony, crouched with his paws tucked under his chest in a sunny spot, watching us. According to Brackenfoot, he was one of the best hunters in ThunderClan, which was why my mentor had roped him into coming here with us – to show me the hunting crouch. A pretty full first day of training.

At Brackenfoot's nod, Graystorm heaved himself to his paws. "Okay, Mothpaw," he began cheerfully (_Was there anything he _didn't _do cheerfully?)_,"first, you want to…"

By the time the sun was setting, I'd perfected the hunting crouch, although Brackenfoot hadn't let me try it out for real yet. I could tell she was impressed, almost against her will, that I'd managed to get it so quickly. Frankly, I was pretty surprised, too, almost too surprised to be offended at my mentor's lack of faith. I was almost disappointed she wouldn't let me try to catch something that day.

Almost.

We left for camp, stopping to lap up some water on the way, Graystorm laughing and telling jokes, Brackenfoot padding silently in the lead. I decided I liked the gray warrior. He was one of the friendliest, kindest cats I'd ever met, almost like how I figured a dad would be like (like most housecats, I never knew my parents or siblings, if I ever had any). _And that brings my total of friends up to…2. Lighteningstar and Graystorm. Well, 5 if you count Brindlepaw, Brightsong and Sagepaw. _I was guessing my housecat friends didn't count anymore. Brindlepaw was more like an acquaintance, and I wasn't exactly sure if I counted Sagepaw or Brightsong as friends anymore, after the whole lying episode; my belly still burned with anger at the thought of them. I did feel kinda sorry for hurting them, but how would you react if two people you counted as your best friends told you that you still had a home and loving family and then you realized that a) your home was demolished to a pile of soot, and b) your loving family had abandoned you? I wasn't ready to forgive them yet. Once you've lost my trust, you've lost it; you may get it back someday in the far future, but I never, ever forget. I don't make friends easy, so when I'm betrayed like that it's, like, ten times worse.

_Two friends. I'm on a roll. _Hey, it was better than none.

As we entered camp, Graystorm turned to go join the warriors. Before he padded off, though, he paused and gave me a smile. "You did really well on that hunting crouch," he said. "Better than I did as an apprentice - I was worse than a three-legged badger. And look at you – your first day of training, and you've mastered it. You'll make a great warrior." He gave us a parting smile, then turned and padded off to a chattering group of cats near Lighteningstar's den.

I grinned at the warm feeling spreading through my fur. It was nice to be praised every once in a while, especially after all the insults the other Clan cats tossed my way. I didn't pay very much attention to them, because they were only trying to get a reaction and prove their stupid stereotypes right, but still, you do get tired of cats going on about how awful and hopeless you are.

My aching paws throbbed. I wasn't keen on seeing Brightsong and Sagepaw again, but my feet felt like they were going to fall off. Just as I started off towards the medicine cat's den, though, Brackenfoot stopped me. I gave a tiny sigh – my paws really did hurt – and turned to face her. She shuffled her paws in the dirt awkwardly.

"You did really well," she mumbled, her voice getting stronger as she went on. "I thought you'd be just another soft, helpless kittypet, but you did better than some Clanborn apprentices have. I didn't really expect you to succeed, and most of the time apprentices don't learn the hunting crouch on the first day. I guess I wanted to see how you would react if you failed. I just wanted to say sorry."

I shrugged uncomfortably – the whole "share your emotions and tell how you feel inside" just wasn't my thing – but it felt good to hear her apologize. "Thanks," I said softly, giving her a thankful blink.

Brackenfoot looked distinctly relieved to get her confession off her chest, and gave me a small smile before we parted ways – me to get something for my paws, her to her warrior friends. _Maybe I've got 3 friends, not 2._

I paused at the entrance to the den and took a deep, calming breath before calling out. Brightsong's delighted voice welcomed me eagerly.

"Mothpaw? Is that you?"

_Nope. It's a pink cat-eating alien. With horns. And six feet. _"Yeah. It's me," I said, less than enthusiastic.

"Well, come on in!"

I did. Reluctantly. Sagepaw, mixing a poultice, instantly looked up and blinked at me. He seemed awkward, unsure, after our last encounter. Brightsong, smiling happily, padded out of the cleft where she stored her herbs and sat down.

"What's the matter?"

I told her about my sore paws in as few words as possible. Maybe it was just me, but the dark interior of her den was starting to feel suffocating; probably an aftereffect of being stuck in here for a straight month.

Brightsong blinked sympathetically, her tail twitching back and forth thoughtfully. "Hmm…an ointment of yarrow should help. It's supposed to help heal or soften cracked paw pads. Sagepaw? Do you know where I keep the yarrow?"

He nodded and dashed to the stores.

"Can I see your paws?"

I silently held them up so that she could see the underside of them. I didn't know why, but for some bizarre reason, unlike my housecat friends, my paw pads weren't pink but black, and harder than theirs were. At the moment, though, I didn't care what color they were, or how tough. The walls of the den looked like they were getting closer and closer. My ears instinctively flicked backwards, but I forced them upright again. _Get a grip on yourself, girl!_

Sagepaw trotted out of the cleft with a buck of finely divided, feathery leaves. Brightsong nodded approvingly. "Good job, Sagepaw," she praised him. A brief smile flickered across his face for a second before it vanished.

"Put your paws pad-side up on the ground," Brightsong instructed. I laid down and stretched my forepaws out in front of me, the cave floor cold against my belly, as she delicately chewed up the leaves, careful not to swallow any and wrinkling her nose at what was apparently a nasty taste, then spread them over my paw pads. I couldn't help a tiny sigh of relief as the throbbing disappeared.

"There," Brightsong meowed, scrutinizing her work. "That should do it. If they start to hurt again, come back so we can put more yarrow on it."

I nodded and muttered a quick "Thanks." _Got to get out…_

She smiled sadly, and I realized she knew exactly how I felt about her and Sagepaw. "I'm so sorry," she whispered so softly I wasn't sure if I'd heard it or not. The more I thought about it, I didn't think she had, as she didn't say anything else and that sad smile was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Besides, my suffocating-darkness-walls-closing-in-conjuring mind wasn't exactly reliable at the moment. I tried to not leave in a mad scramble for the outside, but it was _hard. _Once I was outside, gulping in huge breaths of cool, crisp, life-giving oxygen, I relaxed and just stood there for a minute, enjoying the openness. Then I heard an uncertain voice speak my name. Sagepaw.

"Um…Mothpaw?"

"Yes?" I replied, trying not to sound too tense.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh…sure." Stepping aside so he could get out of the den and avoiding his eyes, I groaned inwardly and mentally slapped myself for not leaving when I had the chance. Brightsong noticed him leaving.

"Where are you going? I thought you were making a poultice of watermint for Redfur's bellyache?"

"Could I finish it later? I, uh, want to talk to Mothpaw for a second," he said the last part so quickly it was almost unintelligible. Brightsong studied him for a heartbeat with an unreadable expression in her bright green eyes, then nodded her assent.

"But make it quick," she added, then vanished back inside her den. "Poultices don't make themselves, you know…"

"What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked warily, turning to meet Sagepaw's eyes.

He shook his head. "Not here," he said, and led the way out into the forest, stopping in front of a thick patch of brambles and crawling through a small, almost unnoticeable hole as short ways from the camp. Hoping fervently I wouldn't get stuck (the hole really was small), I crawled through, growling at the sharp prickling and poking as the thorns caught in my fur and scraped against my skin. I blinked in surprise once I was free of the brambles; there was a little sunlit patch of bare ground in the middle of the thicket, so well hidden you could walk right on by and never suspect it was there. Good place for cats who don't want to be found. I carefully marked its location in my head. You never know when a place like this might come in handy.

Sagepaw, tugging out the spikes tangled in his gray fur, blinked apologetically. "It used to be a lot easier when I was younger – getting in here, I mean."

I let out a noncommittal grunt, already pulling out the thorns stuck in my fur (although I didn't really see the point, as we'd have to crawl back out again). Thankfully, my burned side had escaped most of the damage, although there were a few long, red scrapes across it that were already starting to sting horribly. Another trip to the medicine cat's den.

Sagepaw spat out the last of his thorns and met my eyes. "Mothpaw, I'm so sorry," he whispered, yellow eyes wide and begging for forgiveness. In spite of myself, I felt a spark of sympathy. _No! Ignore the big, pleading eyes, ignore the big, pleading eyes…_"I just wanted to protec-"

The spark of sympathy died rather quickly. "_Protect _me?_ Protect _me? How was lying to me supposed to _protect_ me? And besides, I can protect myself, thank you very much!"

"I didn't want to see you hurt…"

"Let me ask you something. Pretend you're the one who was burned and you come to me, instead of me to you. I help your burn heal, and you start to count me as one of your closest friends. You're way worried about your home, your Clan, and you want to get back to it as soon as you can, but you're injured, and I tell you not to worry, it's still there and always will be. So you set out, so happy to finally be going home to where you belong, and then you discover that you Clan has abandoned you forever, you know you'll never be with then again, and on top of that, your camp is a pile of ashes. How would you feel? Would you ever trust me again?"

He looked down, tail and ears drooping. "No," he whispered.

"Would you ever want to see me again?"

"Probably not," he said even quieter.

"That's what I thought," I growled, and started to stalk off before he darted in front of me.

"Please," he begged, "just hear me out!"

I couldn't get around him to the hole, so I sat down bad temperedly, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. I couldn't wait to leave this conversation behind. It was renewing the pain of some already really painful wounds. "_What_?"

"I never meant to hurt you, it was a stupid decision, I know it was, and I'm so sorry, you're one of my best friends, I wanted you to stay in ThunderClan, please forgive me-"

"_Stay_? You thought I would want to stay?" I shook my head. "Sorry, but the harm's done. I don't belong here, anyways." I couldn't take it anymore! I pushed past him, wriggled painfully through the hole, and dashed back to camp with hot tears carving wet trails in my face fur.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Brindlepaw's shy, tentative, somewhat muffled meow said. My head was buried in my mossy bedding, and I was trying not to scream out my frustration and other jumbled up, churning emotions. My fur burned with horrified embarrassment that she'd caught me like this, and briefly considered snapping at her to go away before I remembered that I had no right to order her around, especially to leave her own den.

"Fine. Just dandy." I sounded unconvincing, even to myself. And stuffed up, like I had a bad head cold. Oh, joy.

Brindlepaw curled up next to me, pressing her warm, solid flank against my own. "Whatever you say."

I sniffled, still not lifting my head from my nest, knowing my eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying.

"Tom trouble?"

Surprised, I lifted my head a bit and peeked at her out of the corner of my eye. Did I mention she's like 2 months younger than me? "Huh?"

Brindlepaw shrugged. "Moonfoot, well, Moonpaw a moon ago-" -I giggled a bit at her wording- "she got tom trouble a lot. She's actually start screeching into her bedding," she recalled with a grin.

"Oh. Uh, I guess you could say I've got, um, 'tom trouble'."

"That's what I thought. Toms are stupid." She shifted a second to get into a more comfortable position.

"Yeah," I agreed, thinking of Stonepaw. No use beating around the bush; he _was _stupid. Then Larchpaw came to mind. "Well, with a few exceptions," I rephrased.

We sat there for a minute.

"You know, when Moonfoot yelled, she felt a lot better," Brindlepaw said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should try it."

I peeked at her again, this time in disbelief. "Here? If I start screaming, won't the Clan think someone's attacking or something?"

"You've got a point. Here." I felt her move away from me and heard her start rummaging around in the den. She came back a few seconds later.

"Take a deep breath."

Feeling just a teensy bit apprehensive for what she was going to do, I obeyed, and a heartbeat later a ton of moss was dumped over my head.

"There. That should muffle the worst of it. Just try to make it a quiet scream," Brindlepaw instructed, taking her previous place against my side. "If it gets really loud, I'll sit on you." She sounded amused. I wasn't.

"Thanks," I muttered, although I wasn't sure she heard me, what with all the extra moss. I wasn't really sure her idea would work, so more to humor her than anything, I let out an experiemntal scream into my bedding. Surprisingly, I actually felt better. It felt actually really good to let it all out like that. What do you know.

I heard pawsteps, and a second later Larchpaw spoke. "Is she okay?" He actually sounded concerned, bless him.

"Yeah," Brindlepaw replied for me. "Just letting off some steam."

"Oh. Like Moonfoot?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." The pawsteps started up again, and he curled up against my other side, shocking me for a second.

Their support helped more than the screaming did.

"Thanks, guys." I said, lifting my head free of the moss and shaking the scraps off. _5 friends, not 3, _I rephrased, and I smiled happily to myself. I'd never had a lot of friends, just a few close ones - namely Susan and Clovis. Now that they were gone from my life, I felt more alone than I could remember feeling. But now that I had Brindlepaw and Larchpaw, that awful empty feeling was fading.

Before I went to bed that night, I dragged my bedding over to where Brindlepaw slept alone and curled up in my new spot. Brindlepaw blinked in surprise, but then scooted closer to me so that our sides touched, the way me and Susan used to. I yawned and caught Larchpaw, from where he was curled up in his nest alone on the other side of the den, watching us with such a lonely look my heart ached. I gave him a smile and beckoned with my tail. He gave me an uncertain blink, but I nodded firmly, with Brindlepaw copying me. He hesitated, but then his whole face lit up in a big grin as he dragged his nest over to us and curled up again. We all slept with our fur touching, like us cats do, like we were littermates or best friends.

It was one of the few times I didn't have nightmares about the fire.

**Good for Mothpaw! She's finally starting to adjust to Clan life. **

**Once again, I'm so sorry! I'll try to update soon, really I will, but like I said, I've got a bit going on in my life right now, and I have to update my other story, ****Shadows and Starlight****, too. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and I hoped you liked this one! **


	12. Chapter 10

**My gosh! I didn't realize that I forgot to give Stonepaw a mentor! Okay…his mentor will be Sandclaw.**

_**Chapter Ten**_

The day of my first assessment dawned bright, clear, and sunny. Despite said assessment, I was actually pretty cheerful. I woke up early with the other apprentices, and it was morning as usual – eat, wash, stretch, clean out the den, and go find your mentor. I had mixed feelings about my new ability to wake up early without turning into a crabby grouch – on one paw, I felt happier and more alert and I loved watching the sunrise – but on the other paw, as stupid as it sounds, it felt like it was yet another one of my ties to the old Sara and my housefolk that had been severed.

Moving on from the nostalgia.

Russetpaw and her mentor, Ravenflight, weren't joining us since Russetpaw had a sprained ankle (Yippee! Uh, I mean, wow, that's too bad. What a shame.) But the rest of us, Brackenfoot, Cloudfur (Larchpaw's mentor), Barkfang (Brindlepaw's mentor), me, Larchpaw, Brindlepaw, Sandclaw (Stonepaw's mentor), and the devil himself, otherwise known as Stonepaw, all headed over to the sandy hollow to get our instructions for the first part of the assessment – hunting. The mentors, Stonepaw, and Brindlepaw trotted ahead - Barkfang giving Brindlepaw tips, Stonepaw strutting along at Sandclaw's side, the others discussing routes for the hunting assessment, and me and Larchpaw lagging behind, just padding side by side in companiable silence.

The forest was beautiful – it was still early autumn, so there were plenty of deep green leaves still on the trees, but that green was spotted with brilliant orange and red, the ground sprinkled with those same bright colors from a few leaves that had already fallen and dappled with patches of golden sunlight. The trees rippled in a cool breeze that showed off their colors even more. Due to the lovely weather, the beautiful scenery, my happy mood, and the lack of Stonepaw and Russetpaw in the vicinity, I actually found myself humming to myself as me and Larchpaw stopped to get a drink at the stream near the sandy hollow, something I hadn't done in a very long time.

Turns out, I wasn't the only one who realized what I was doing.

"Are you humming?" Larchpaw asked curiously.

I looked away in embarrassment, staring at a moss-covered rock half-submerged in the stream like I'd been commanded to memorize it. For early autumn, it suddenly seemed very hot. "Yeah."

"I've never heard you hum before," he murmured, making his comment sound like a question.

I shrugged. "Haven't felt like it, I guess."

He nodded, and we started walking again. That was one of the things I loved about Larchpaw – he doesn't pry. If I wanted to tell him something, then it was my choice, and a lot of the time, I did choose to talk to him. For some weird reason, I never felt really uncomfortable discussing my feelings with Larchpaw, like I did with anyone else. Maybe it was because I knew he would never take advantage of me, in any way. Brindlepaw was a good person to talk to and everything, but Larchpaw was my age and was, well, Larchpaw. He was just one of those people you know you can confide in.

I decided that I owed him a better explanation than what I'd given him so far. "I haven't done it since the fire, as far as I can remember. I guess I just didn't feel comfortable. Now, I think I'm actually starting to feel more at home." And I was, I realized. I wasn't as uncomfortable as I used to be with the Clan cats. After a good day of training, the home I looked forward to was the camp; I didn't reminisce for my old house half as much anymore. I was starting to love the forest, with its ever-changing colors and the comforting feeling of security it gave. Even eating dead rodents didn't bother me.

Larchpaw smiled. "That's good."

I shrugged again. "I suppose. But in a way, it almost feels like I'm betraying my housefolk, or pretending they never existed; like if I start feeling at home here, I'll forget them, and I don't want to."

Larchpaw flicked my shoulder gently with his tail. "You aren't betraying them, or forgetting about them, or any of that. You've just…moved on. You'll always remember them, because they're part of what makes you who you are. But you can't live in the past and enjoy the present."

I nodded. It sounded like a corny movie line, but really, it was true. Most corny movie lines are. That was another thing I loved about Larchpaw. He'd always listen, then give you advice straight from the heart. Sometimes, he seemed like a much older, wiser cat than he was in reality.

A minute later, we reached the hollow, with me almost returned to my original happiness.

Unfortunately, the mood was spoiled by the egotistical, bigheaded jerk in charge.

Sandclaw, a pale tabby tom with dark brown stripes and amber eyes, was rather like his apprentice: arrogant, self-serving…basically, like I said before, a jerk. As he was the senior warrior, he was the one who was deciding how the assessments would go.

He also loathed me with a fiery passion, which I really don't understand as we'd really never spoken until today. Things didn't look very good on the whole Mothpaw-staying-in-one-piece front.

"You're late," Sandclaw said in his annoying, drawling, sneering voice as we hurried to join Brindlepaw, "and you missed the briefing. Barkfang, Cloudfur, and Brackenfoot have already taken up positions around the forest and will keep track of your progress. We've decided to make it into a race of sorts. As Stonepaw is the most accomplished hunter, he will work alone. Mothpaw, as you have only a pathetic moon's worth of training, you'll be on a team with Brindlepaw, who can't catch a mouse if it ran onto her claws and begged to be caught, and Larchpaw, whose hunting skills are more like a kit's than an two-moon apprentice's. Let's see if you three and your dismal, mediocre skills can match those of Stonepaw's. You'll have five minutes to decide your routes and such. Remember, we'll be watching." And with that, he backed away into the undergrowth and vanished. Stonepaw slunk up to us as soon as he'd left.

"You heard him," he hissed. "He expects me to win, and I don't intend to prove him wrong. If you catch anything bigger than a shrew, you're dead meat, _Brindlekit_," he suddenly snarled at the poor kid. She jumped, looking terrified, hunched over and her fur laying flat against her skin to make her a smaller target, and it suddenly clicked. That's why she was so timid and scared of him and Russetpaw. My blood boiled with rage, but I kept my urge to shove his perfect face in the dirt tightly under control until the opportune moment presented itself. I sank my claws into the ground.

"And you, Larchpaw," Stonepaw continued, "you catch more than one piece of prey and Sagepaw gets it." Larchpaw's eyes blazed, but he nodded stiffly. He wouldn't do anything that would hurt his brother. Then it was my turn.

"If you show me up in any way, you'll wish you'd never been kitted," he growled, shoving his face so close to mine our noses almost touched. I tightened my grip on my hurt-Stonepaw-impulse, which was threatening to slip loose, and yawned right in his face.

"Yeah, like telling me what to do has always worked so well in the past," I remarked. "Let me tell you something, Stonehead – I'll catch as much prey as I want, whichever kind of prey I want, of whatever size. I'm going to make my mentor proud of me, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop me," I finished matter-of-factly. "And Larchpaw and Brindlepaw have the same rights I do. Got that?"

He gaped at me, like he couldn't believe anyone would dare contradict him. Too bad for him. Taking advantage of his state of shock, I turned, kicked dirt into his open mouth, and led the way out of the training hollow. "Let's go, guys." Larchpaw and Brindlepaw followed me silently.

Once we were a few minutes away from the hollow, we stopped.

"Is that why you're scared of him?" I asked Brindlepaw.

She looked at the ground and nodded, and how young and small she was struck me again. "Barkfang thinks I'm stupid and a slow learner, but I'm not!" she cried.

My heart broke. Poor kid. I bent down so that I was on her level (standing tall she was still at least a head shorter than me) and pressed my side against hers comfortingly. "It's not too late to change that. It's only your first moon of training, after all. And you really don't need to be afraid of Stonepaw – he's a coward at heart. He wouldn't dare hurt you, because someone would find him out, and you're always with us or Barkfang. Just stand up for yourself. You're worth a hundred Stonepaws, Brindlepaw."

She sniffled and looked up at me. "Really?"

I licked the top of her head. "You bet you are."

She gave me a watery smile and got to her paws. I glanced over at Larchpaw, who was watching me with respect and admiration in his yellow eyes.

"Oh, come off it," I muttered to him. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

Larchpaw just shrugged, a half-smile on his face. "Whatever you say, Mothpaw."

I chose to ignore that. "Okay. Where are we going to hunt? Tallpines, maybe?"

Larchpaw narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "It's leaf-fall, so the monsters shouldn't be there, and prey's easily spotted…but we'd have to be really careful, 'cause we'd be seen, too. It won't be easy with the three of us."

"Not Twolegplace, 'cause Sandclaw would start going on about how I'm betraying the Clan and reverting back to my disgusting kittypet ways…we're wasting time debating on this. How about we just hunt in the forest and catch what we find?"

"Sounds good to me," Larchpaw agreed.

"Me, too," Brindlepaw meowed determinedly.

"Alrighty then. Let's show Stonepaw what we're made of!"

Brindlepaw still looked a tiny bit nervous, but she nodded firmly just the same. I felt pride warm my heart.

As we padded past a clump of ferns, I jerked my head at Larchpaw. Something had just occurred to me. He slowed down to match my pace and I waited until Brindlepaw was a few tail-lengths in front of us.

"Do you think Stonepaw will follow us to see if I really do catch more than him?" I muttered to him out of the side of my mouth.

Larchpaw blinked. "I wouldn't put it past him," he murmured. "But if he did, he wouldn't be able to catch anything at all, unless he managed to get something while following us."

"It sounds like too much work for him. If he follows us, he'll probably dig up our prey and claim it as his own. He could hide our scents by rolling it around in mushrooms or herbs."

Larchpaw nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds just like him. We'd better be careful."

"D'you think you could help me keep an eye out for him? I don't want to scare Brindlepaw."

"Of course," he said firmly. Just that moment, Brindlepaw turned her head and looked back at us.

"What're you guys doing back there?"

"Oh, nothing," I said airily, me and Larchpaw speeding up to join her. "Just making bets as to who'll catch the most."

"Oh. Then I bet you the biggest piece on the fresh-kill pile to however wins if I don't." She grinned. "But that's not very likely."

I play-growled. "You're gonna have to rethink that statement when I come out on top," I teased.

Larchpaw gently shoved me with his shoulder. "I don't know about that," he said, grinning. "I think it might be me who wins."

We all shared a laugh together and spent a minute making friendly bets before getting down to business. We didn't spot anything for a short while, but then Larchpaw suddenly stopped, crouching down and motioning with the tiniest flick of his tail to be quiet and not move. Me and Brindlepaw both froze as Larchpaw wriggled his haunches, then darted out of the clump of bracken he was hiding behind and sped after a gray squirrel nibbling on a nut of some sort. The squirrel let out a squeak of alarm, dropped its nut and raced for the nearest tree, scrambling up its trunk just as Larchpaw gave a huge leap and fastened his claws in its bushy tail. It was all over for the squirrel.

"Nice one," I said appreciatively, sniffing at its fur. "Pretty fat for autumn – uh, I mean, leaf-fall." Larchpaw's eyes gleamed happily, unable to speak through the squirrel clamped in his jaws. "I'd say we've gotten off to a pretty good start, don't you?"

"My turn next," Brindlepaw called from where she was already scenting for more prey. "Aha!" She silently scampered around a patch of brambles and out of sight, me and Larchpaw, who was still clutching his squirrel, racing off after her. We were held up for a few seconds when I stumbled and tripped over a root, doing an impressive face plant into the dirt. Larchpaw helped me up, his laughter muffled through the squirrel's fur, and when we caught up to Brindlepaw, she'd already caught her prey – a big starling. We both praised her catch, and Brindlepaw beamed.

"Barkfang's going to be so proud of me," she said happily, making as if to bury her starling.

"Um, how 'bout we carry it with us?" I suggested quickly. Larchpaw padded forward and spat out his squirrel. "I'll carry it," he offered. Brindlepaw looked a little confused at why we were going to lug all of our prey around with us, and I didn't give her the reason why. I didn't want to freak her out. After a second or two, she nodded, stepping back and letting Larchpaw grab the starling's wing and the squirrel's tail in his teeth.

"You know, maybe we should just bury it all together and have one of us stand guard," I suggested, trying not to laugh. Larchpaw nodded several times, looking pretty funny with his mouth full and his head tilted back so the prey wouldn't drag on the ground. "Okay, I'm next – I can't have you two showing me up."

By the time the sun was going down and streaking the sky crimson, we'd caught an impressive amount of prey, if I do say so myself - Brindlepaw's starling, Larchpaw's squirrel, a five mice, two fat voles, a pigeon, and a small but plump thrush. We'd agreed to use my idea, and we'd each taken turns as a guard for our hoard. Two would go out and catch something, one would stand guard, then we'd switch. Stonepaw hadn't showed his face at all, but I still had the sneaking suspicion he'd been following us.

When we made it back to the sandy hollow with all our prey, I could tell even Sandclaw was impressed, although he'd be more likely to die before he'd admit it. All the other mentors oohed and aahed over our prey, and I don't think I'd ever seen Brindlepaw as happy as she did when Barkfang, looking surprised but very pleased, praised and boasted about her catches. As for the results of the bet, Brindlepaw caught the biggest, Larchpaw caught the most, and I caught my prey in the shortest amount of time, so instead of figuring out who got what, we just decided that we'd all help each other clean out the den and help with the elders, and share the biggest pieces of prey on the fresh-kill pile.

And you know what the best part was?

My suspicions were correct - Stonepaw _had_ followed us, although he hadn't been able to steal our prey.

He didn't catch a thing.

**So, now that I've gotten two chapters up, I'm going to work on Shadows and Starlight. I hope you guys liked this chapter! **

**Oh, and I know it's really early, but I wanted everyone to have plenty of time for this - warrior name suggestions, for any of the apprentices! If you've got any ideas, please mention them in your review, or PM me. Feel free to list as many as you want. **


	13. Chapter 10 Part 2

**I didn't want to make Chap. 10 one big chapter, 'cuz it was getting so long, so I decided to divide it into 3 parts. Here's Part 2.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I love reading your comments!**

**_Chapter Ten – Part 2_**

Stonepaw sure got chewed out, too - I think people on the other side of the ocean were looking around, wondering why they could suddenly hear the angry screeches of a mad cat. Boy, was Sandclaw rubbing the proverbial salt in the wound. It was so bad, I almost felt sorry for Stonepaw, but then I remembered that the jerk had tried to steal our prey, insulted me, and threatened my friends and I didn't feel sorry anymore.

"You idiot!" Sandclaw fumed, looking absolutely livid. A vein was pulsing in his forehead. "How did you catch _nothing_?! You had the whole forest to hunt in and the whole day to hunt, and you didn't catch _anything_?! You have the skills of a newborn kit, and the brain of one, too!"

I actually winced at that one. Bet that hurt.

"You have dishonored me, and your Clan! Have I taught you nothing?! Why did I have to get you, out of all other available apprentices?!"

Oh. Yeeowch.

Me, Larchpaw, Brindlepaw, and our mentors were watching the face-off warily (or in Brindlepaw's case, grim satisfaction – Stonepaw was now experiencing what she'd gotten from him nearly her entire life), wondering if someone should step in. On one paw, it was their argument, and Stonepaw was Sandclaw's apprentice. On the other, though, Sandclaw was being a little extreme – even I'd admit to that.

Finally Cloudfur cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sandclaw? Don't you think we should start the fighting assessment? It's starting to get late."

Sandclaw's head jerked to glare at him, but then he relaxed. The sudden change was kinda creepy. Jeez, but this guy was weird. "Of course, Cloudfur," he said calmly. "How about Larchpaw goes first?"

And so the assessment began. Sandclaw asked Larchpaw to fight Brindlepaw, and though Larchpaw won, Barkfang was happy with Brindlepaw's effort. She did fight really well, for only having one month's training versus Larchpaw's two months.

And then it was my turn. And guess who Sandclaw wanted me to fight? Three guesses.

"She's only been training for one moon and you want her to fight Stonepaw?!" my mentor growled at Sandclaw.

Sandclaw blinked slowly and said in his annoying, drawling, sneering voice, "If you don't think you have trained her well enough for her to pass her first assessment, then by all means, don't let her fight," he mocked. "Just goes to show you, kittypets aren't worth crowfood." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Larchpaw narrow his eyes in anger and Brindlepaw's fur begin to bristle. Stonepaw shot me a smirk, sufficiently recovered from his lecture to enjoy me being insulted. I stuck my tongue out at him, feeling like I wanted to kick something.

_No one_ makes fun of my mentor.

I wanted to show Sandclaw just how well I fought for daring to speak to Brackenfoot that way – and for his offensive kittypet comment. If you ask me, it was the other way around – _Sandclaw_ wasn't worth crowfood. But for Brackenfoot's sake, I reined in my urge to claw his ugly smirk off his face. Gosh, but my self-control was improving. I really was changing.

My mentor blinked and looked a little flustered. She was one of the younger warriors, and as Sandclaw was a senior warrior and had an intimidating, insulting personality, she got thrown off a bit.

From the side of the hollow, Cloudfur cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'm sure Brackenfoot's a great mentor," he protested. Brackenfoot shot him a grateful look and managed to collect herself while Cloudfur's comment momentarily distracted Sandclaw.

"Don't you dare insult my apprentice," Brackenfoot hissed at Sandclaw. Sandclaw turned to face her again, breaking off the glare he was aiming at Cloudfur,

"All talk and no fight," he scoffed. "Just like you younger warriors – too afraid to defend their honor, like scared kits."

Since I was sitting next to her, I felt Brackenfoot's muscles tense. Her amber eyes were now blazing with anger as she turned to face me.

"Do you think you can take Stonepaw?" she asked me quietly.

I met her gaze firmly, ignoring the burst of butterflies in my stomach - I had better not let Stonepaw beat me. I wouldn't be able to stand it. "He won't know what hit him," I replied confidently, feeling a thrill of anticipation race through me. Hunting was all fine and dandy, but battle-fighting was what I truly enjoyed and excelled at.

Brackenfoot nodded. "Okay," she growled at Sandclaw, "she'll fight."

"Good luck," she whispered to me as I stepped away from her and into the middle of the hollow. Stonepaw copied me, walking forward until we were only separated by a few pawsteps.

"Scared, Mothpaw?" he mocked under his breath so only I could hear him.

"You wish," I snarled back, staring right back at him, and actually, I wasn't. Now that the time had come, all I could feel was eagerness. As we waited for either Brackenfoot or Sandclaw to say start, I snuck a look at my friends. Brindlepaw looked apprehensive, but when she caught me looking at her, she gave me an encouraging grin. Larchpaw gave me his crooked smile and winked. I flashed him a grin and looked back at Stonepaw, forcing myself to stay relaxed and not tense up as I waited for someone to give the call to -

"Start!"

While Stonepaw was still processing the command, I struck. Remembering the rule of no claws, I made sure to keep them sheathed – no matter how much I wished otherwise. My paw connected with the side of his head with a dull thud, and I laughed triumphantly as Stonepaw yowled in surprise and shook his head to clear it. I danced away from his retaliating claw swipes, and took up a stance on the far side of the hollow, keeping light on my toes. Brackenfoot had trained me well; I knew I couldn't beat him in a real fight – he was way stronger, heavier and had trained for longer than I had – so my strategy was to wear him out with my superior speed, tire him out, land hits when and where I could.

As he came lumbering after me, his weight making him sink into the sand and slowing him down even more, I leaped at him, nipped his side, and sped away before he could land a blow. He hissed in fury, racing towards me again with a spurt of speed that almost caught me off guard. I narrowly evaded him, then spun back around and tried to hit him again.

Stonepaw was ready for me this time. As I leaped forward a few steps to get him in range, he shot out with a paw and whacked me as hard as he could on the side on my head. Bright lights exploded in front of my eyes as I let out a surprised grunt, and I staggered backward as Stonepaw advanced, pummeling as hard as he could.

I tried to focus and strike back, but it's really hard to get your bearings when someone keeps repeatedly hitting your head with the force of a small boulder. I dimly heard Sandclaw give a triumphant yowl.

"You see?" He screeched. "Even a kit fights better!"

Oh boy, did that do it. My body pulsed with raw rage; I shook my head to clear it and suddenly rammed forward, dodging under Stonepaw's paw swipe, and took Stonepaw by surprise and knocked him down, beating him around the head as I pinned him to the ground. Once he got over the shock, he started wriggling like crazy, but I just hit him harder. After a few more blows, he went limp, and I grinned. _I win! _Suddenly, he gave a huge heave, and I was flung backwards, landing on my back with a big _whoosh _of air escaping from my lungs. I just lay there for a second, dazed, with no breath to yowl. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Larchpaw leap to his feet. "Mothpaw! Watch out!" he cried. I staggered to my feet, only to meet the end of Stonepaw's strike. I felt his claws slice into my ear, the pain not hitting me until a few seconds later. I staggered backward in surprise and pain, my jaws opened in a silent yowl, as Stonepaw advanced again, eyes blazing with fury.

I stumbled backward and tripped over my feet, half-blind with blood dripping into my eyes, and hissed defiantly, bracing myself. Stonepaw leaped and landed hard on my stomach, digging his claws in and raising his paw for another strike. I gagged, not able to get air into my lungs, and my vision started to get dark.

Cloudfur's voice rose over Stonepaw's low, rumbling snarl and the cries of my friends. "Stonepaw, control yourself!" he shouted indignantly.

Stonepaw stopped his blow a whisker length from my face. I gave a tiny sigh in relief that I made sure Stonepaw couldn't hear and with difficulty got slowly to my paws. My ear throbbed and stung like a million wasps had been attacking it, my ribs felt like they'd been stomped on my a herd of cows, and I was still trying to get some air into my lungs. I shook my head to get the blood out of my eyes as black dots crowded my vision. _Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, whatever you do, don't faint!_

"Mothpaw wins," Barkfang meowed in his deep, quiet voice.

On the side of the hollow opposite where Larchpaw and the others were sitting, Sandclaw scolding his apprentice. "Stonepaw! You know the rules , no claws allowed," he reproached with the air of someone commenting on the weather. "You would've won if you'd gotten that through your thick head," he growled, his tone suddenly hard and cold as ice.

I wanted to hit him; all he cared about was that Stonepaw didn't win, not that I almost died. Jerk.

Then Larchpaw and Brindlepaw and Brackenfoot were all at my side, Brackenfoot checking me over then screeching at Sandclaw when she saw I wasn't dying ("Great StarClan! How dare you hurt my apprentice! She'll have that scar for her whole life, you piece of foxdung!"), Larchpaw gently cleaning the blood off, Brindlepaw hissing angrily at Sandclaw and Stonepaw and letting me lean on her shoulder.

Once I'd gotten my breath back and I wasn't so dizzy, I pulled away from them, feeling very uncomfortable and wising I could go hide under a rock. "It's just a little cut, guys," I muttered. "I'm fine." And my ear really wasn't hurting as badly; it was mostly the humiliation of defeat that was bugging me so much.

"'Just a little cut'?" Brindlepaw repeated disbelievingly. "You've got this great big chuck taken out of your ear!"

I blinked. "I've got a what?"

"A great big piece missing from your ear! You didn't think all that blood came from nowhere, did you?"

I blinked again. My ear had a great big nick in it? I guess I really hadn't thought about where the blood was coming from. "My ear's got a hole in it?" my voice sounded like I was being strangled.

Larchpaw stopped his washing for a second. "It's okay, Mothpaw," he assured me. "You still look beautiful." I blushed, feeling a bizarre burst of happiness and bashfulness, and looked down as what Larchpaw said sunk into him. His eyes opened wide and he looked positively mortified. He shuffled his paws awkwardly, and choked out, "Um, I mean, uh-"

"Thanks, Larchpaw," I interrupted, saving him from further embarrassment, and with a sudden streak of boldness, licked his cheek.

Larchpaw blushed even more than I had, and gave me a shy smile before he went back to cleaning the blood of my ear and head.

Brindlepaw turned a giggle into a cough, which I chose to ignore. "You do still look okay. It gives you this roguish look," she observed.

"It wasn't that I was worried about how I look," I protested. "It's just, I dunno, that piece of ear was a piece of _me_, and now it's gone."

"Oh. Well, you'll get used to it soon. And you do look okay."

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

Brackenfoot left off yowling at Sandclaw to carefully nose me over again. "You okay? It's just your ear, right? I didn't see anything else."

I sidestepped away from all her fussing and nodded. "Yeah. I'm good."

Brackenfoot gave a sigh of relief. "Okay. You better go see Brightsong for cobwebs and herbs. You fought very well."

"But I lost," I protested, hating those three words and the bitter taste they left in my mouth.

"No," Brackenfoot said, her voice suddenly hard. "You won."

I snorted. "I don't think having my ear sliced open and almost suffocating counts as 'winning.' I lost. I couldn't fight back."

Brackenfoot shook her head. "You won. Stonepaw cheated, using his claws, and just proved that he has no self-control or standards. You fought back, no matter how badly it was going. And I think that if Stonepaw hadn't gone berserk, you would've beaten him. I'm really proud of you."

I shrugged, not bothering to contradict her again. No matter what she said, I'd still lost. But she said she was proud of me, and that almost made up for the loss.

Almost. I'd lost to Stonehead. I wanted to scream.

Larchpaw seemed to sense my tension, but thankfully he realized that I really wasn't in the mood for more "You really did win" lectures and settled for just licking my cheek. It did help, at least a little, and I gave him a smile.

_You still look beautiful. _He thought I was beautiful. An unexpected burst of happiness exploded in my chest, and I quickly turned before it could register on my face.

"Can we go back to camp?" I asked quickly, to take my mind off Larchpaw.

Brackenfoot nodded. "Of course. We're done here. You three all passed your assessments."

We exchanged grins and Brindlepaw gave a little cheer. We all padded over to the bush we'd put the prey under and gathered it up, heading back to camp and leaving Stonepaw and Sandclaw behind.

**Part 3 will be up soon; I hope you liked this chapter! **


	14. Chapter 10 Part 3

**Great news! My grandma's better; she's gotten the lung donor she needed! YAY!!!!!!!!! **

**Anywho, this chapter is dedicated to two of my friends, flamestone and Cucumber Periwinkle. Happy Birthday, you guys!!! It'**

**It's a long one…hope it makes up for not updating in a month….I'M SORRY!!!!!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed; I love reading your comments.**

**Mothpaw: Okay, let's regroup! In the first 2 parts of Chapter 10, I was taking my first-ever assessment. In Part 1, we did the hunting half of the it and totally creamed Stonepaw. In Part 2, we did the fighting, and Stonepaw sorta got back at me by taking a big slice out of my ear. In Part 3…well, you'll just have to see what happens!**

_**Chapter Ten – Part 3**_

I could've gone my whole life without ever going to the medicine cat den again and died a very happy cat. But no; I can't seem to make it through a month without having to get treated for something. I think the universe hates me.

I reluctantly padded through the fern tunnel, Brindlepaw and Larchpaw flanking me. Personally, I think the cobwebs Barkfang had found for my ear did the job just fine, but Brackenfoot said she didn't want it to get infected and sent me to Brightsong anyways - when Brackenfoot gives you The Look, you better do whatever she tells you unless you want to be searching the elders for ticks the whole next moon.

I was hoping that Sagepaw would be out finding herbs or treating someone, but there he was, in the middle of the medicine cat clearing, mixing some kind of poultice. Oh, great. Things were still rather awkward and I didn't really want a repeat of our last conversation; plus, I had a sneaking suspicion that when he saw my ear he'd flip out.

I was right.

He glanced up and froze, yellow eyes wide and his fur standing up. "Mothpaw! Your ear," he gasped.

With great difficulty I managed not to roll my eyes. _Oh no, you don't say! _I was perfectly aware that there was a honking great slice missing from it, thank you.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I muttered, quickly walking around him.

Brightsong was in the back, taking an inventory. "Borage, poppy seed, water chestnut…" she mumbled to herself, her voice echoing slightly in the little alcove where she stored everything. I coughed, trying to get her attention.

She stuck her head around the corner. "Mothpaw! What's the ma- oh! Your ear!"

Those two words were starting to get really annoying really fast. I sighed. "Yes. My ear."

"Sagepaw, get some marigold, cobwebs and comfrey," Brightsong listed at top speed, quickly coming forward and sniffing around my ear. "Whoever cleaned it off did a good job," she added approvingly to no one in particular. I answered her anyways.

"It was Larchpaw."

She shot him an appreciative glance. "Good job."

His tail flicked in embarrassment. "Thanks," he murmured, eyes on the ground. "It was nothing."

Sagepaw came scurrying around from the storage with the requested herbs, eyes dark as he gave Larchpaw a jealous glare. Larchpaw looked taken aback at his brother's hostility. The tension in the den went up a few notches. Oh, dear. "Why don't you guys go on?" I asked, turning to look at my friends. "No need to wait for me here and take up space." No need to stay and spark a fight with the medicine cat apprentice.

"It would help if I had some more room to work in," Brightsong agreed.

Brindlepaw glanced at me, and I knew that she knew why I was asking them to leave. "Yeah, come on Larchpaw." She nudged him and got to her feet. Larchpaw followed reluctantly, although without protesting, for which I was grateful.

"We'll wait for you," he called over his shoulder. I watched until the gray tip of his tail whisked out of sight. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sagepaw's gaze flick from me to where Larchpaw had just left, resentment still stamped on his face. Toms and their jealousy issues. Mentally sighing, I turned unwillingly to face Brightsong again.

Oh, snap. I'd forgotten about my claustrophobia.

I quickly composed my face into an inscrutable mask that hid all signs of the panic rapidly reaching breaking point inside me. "Why don't we go out into the clearing?" I suggested, working to keep my voice from squeaking. Please, please, please say we can go into the nice, open clearing.

Brightsong blinked, giving me a bewildered stare as she took the herbs from Sagepaw. I knew why she was confused – we really didn't need to go outside. Cats have night vision, so she could still she the wound fine in the darkening cave, and this was where she had her herbs handy. But I, on the other paw, was going to start having a meltdown if we didn't get out _right now_. As much as I hated revealing weakness, I briefly let my mask slip for a second, letting her see my terror, before clawing it back into place.

She nodded quickly. "Yes, let's go," she agreed smoothly. "It's lighter out there, and I could use the fresh air."

I instantly turned and scrambled out, almost tripping over myself. _Come on, girl, relax. Take deep breaths._

I composed myself before they joined me and sat down in a nice patch of still warm sunlight.

"Okay," Brightsong said, neatly arranging the different herbs into orderly piles, continuing as if nothing had happened. "First, let's get these cobwebs off." Standing over me, she carefully snipped through the white threads. I tried not to flinch as her teeth grazed my ear. "Then, let's chew this marigold into a pulp…" She described each part of the process to me and Sagepaw, telling us the uses of each herb and how to apply them. One thing you had to say about Brightsong, she loved her job.

Me, not so much.

"I thought you said this would help!" I growled through clenched teeth as she dripped the marigold juices onto my gash. Geez, did it sting! The treatment almost hurt worse than the wound itself!

"I know," Brightsong meowed sympathetically. "It would hurt even more of it got infected, though."

Thankfully, the rest of it wasn't as painful as the marigold, and after a few more minutes I was shooed out of the clearing with my ear all wrapped up like a turban. I felt oddly unbalanced, my hearing all muffled on that one side. I stood for a second in front of the fern tunnel, glad to get away from Sagepaw's bitter silence and Brightsong, the queen of herbal torture, and just took a moment to unwind. The sun was half-way below the horizon, blazing a fiery orange. Wow, it was pretty. My gaze wandered over the camp, and I froze. There, padding out of the entrance, was Stonepaw, who looked sullen and angry, and Sandclaw, bad-tempered and irritable. My blood boiled up, and for a second I was looking through a red mist of fury. _So much for unwinding. _Wonder how he'd like it if I took a chunk of his ear off?

_No, no, no, not now! Do you want to lose Brackenfoot's respect? _I pictured her disappointment if I attacked Stonepaw, and my heart sank. There was no way I'd willingly lose her trust, especially after I'd worked so hard to gain it. And besides that, if I did let everything loose on him, it would prove all those morons who said I wasn't worth anything. No, I wouldn't attack him. Yet.

After getting a tight hold on my anger, I stalked away, looking for something to distract myself. No use taking chances with my emotions running away with me.

The wind stirred for a moment, and my nose twitched like a rabbit's as warm, delicious prey-smell reached me. Food! I'd forgotten how hungry I was. I bolted to the fresh-kill pile, completely distracted now.

I carefully looked over the selection of prey, trying to find the biggest vole and not drool all over the fresh-kill. I was so hungry, my stomach was practically eating itself. I nudged a sparrow over to see if there was a vole underneath it. Nothing.

I sighed. I'll admit it, I'm sort of a picky eater. Sure, eating dead rodents doesn't bother me a lot anymore, but I still really don't like birds or squirrels - the feathers and fur get stuck in my teeth. Mice and voles aren't half as furry as squirrels, and they're both pretty good – although voles are my absolute favorite. Just to be sure, I checked for a vole again, but no luck. Guess today's menu was mouse.

I bent over a nice fat one that almost made up for there being none of my favorite food left, and was about to pick it up when someone nudged me. I yelped in surprise and stumbled, falling back on my haunches to the mocking laughs of some of the warriors lounging around their den. My ears were burning in humiliation. Why, oh why, did I have to fall over when they were watching?

"What was that for- oh..." My rant trailed off into silence as I met Larchpaw's bright yellow eyes.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he asked in concern, bending down and helping me up.

Why do I always embarrass myself in front of him? Today is _not_ my day. My ears burned hotter, and they flicked backwards before I forced them upright again. I could only imagine how red my ears were. "Uh, yeah, I'm good. I was just surprised, that's all."

"Sorry," he repeated unhappily.

I couldn't help but feel confused at how much he was beating himself up over me. It wasn't that big of a deal. "Hey, it's fine," I said, grinning and reaching up to lick him on the ear. I was tall, but he was still a few inches bigger than me, so I had to go up on tiptoe. He blushed too, his ears turning a deeper shade of red, but he did cheer up after that.

"I saved you this," he meowed, changing the subject. He gently prodded an enormous vole lying in front of him with one light gray forepaw. My mouth watered. _Please, don't let me be drooling. _"Oh my gosh, you're my hero," I said gratefully, picking it up in my teeth and doing my best not to eat it then and there.

"I know it's your favorite," he said shyly, his ears now approaching a deep crimson.

I looked down, feeling suddenly bashful. Sheesh, what was wrong with me? I'm not a bashful kind of person. "Well, you got that right," I said, my voice quieter than normal.

He smiled his crooked smile and we padded over to join Brindlepaw in a warm patch of fading sunlight. She batted her eyelashes at me as I sat down. "I think a certain someone has a crush on certain someone," she whispered in my ear.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered. She snickered and took a bite of her wren.

"Whatever you say," she said in an undertone, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

I growled to myself. _Although, she does have a point_, whispered a little voice in my head. _I think you do have a crush on him. _Geez, even my own brain was turning against me. Someone help me.

Forcing all Larchpaw-related thoughts out of the front of my mind, I bent down to take a bite out of my vole. Before I could sink my teeth into it, though, someone called me. My head come slowly up, and I counted to ten to hold off my exasperation. I get cranky when I'm really, really hungry.

I was instantly glad I hadn't immediately started to rage at the interrupter, because as it turns out, it was Lighteningstar. I swallowed hard. Had I done something wrong? Was I in trouble? Brindlepaw gave me a nudge, hissing "Go on!", and I unfroze and rushed to my feet.

Lighteningstar smiled kindly and led me to a quiet, out-of-the-way corner of camp. "Brackenfoot says your training has been coming along well, Mothpaw," he said, and instantly I felt a surge of relief. Phew; guess he wasn't punishing me. "In fact, she insists that you are the best apprentice in all four Clans," he added, yellow eyes sparkling with amusement. "Barkfang and Cloudfur have also said that their apprentices are coming along well. All three of you will attend the Gathering."

I grinned broadly. "Score!" I cheered, leaping to my feet and surprising myself with my own excitement. Brindlepaw and Larchpaw, even Russetpaw and Stonepaw, chattered about Gatherings with a sense of hopefulness, enthusiasm and wonder. I wanted to see what they were so excited about. "Uh, I mean, can I go tell them?"

Lighteningstar smiled. "Of course. And," he added, his yellow eyes growing colder than the winter sun, "I thought you might be pleased to hear that Stonepaw is being severely punished."

"Oh, yes." I smiled again, with a rush of fierce satisfaction. Serves him right, although punishment wouldn't get me my ear back.

"He will not be going to this Gathering, or the next, and he is confined to camp for the next moon."

It's not that I wasn't pleased, but that sounded harsh, even to me. "Don't cats get hurt all the time out here?" I asked, a tad bit confused. "Why's it so serious?"

"We don't hurt our own, unless we absolutely need to in battle," Lighteningstar said, his voice taunt with anger. I resisted the urge to cower. "What Stonepaw did was against the Code, and from what Brackenfoot, Barkfang, and Cloudfur tell me, he was in a frenzy. He could've killed you."

"But I'm not even one of you!" I said, just more confused. "I'm a kittypet, remember?" Most of the Clan cats made no secret that they wished I was gone. If I was killed, they'd probably throw a party. Since when did I matter to them?

Lighteningstar blinked. "You aren't expendable," he growled. "And you aren't a kittypet anymore. You are a part of this Clan, and while some immature mousebrains haven't realized it yet, you are worth just as much as them. In some cases, even more."

I was a little taken aback at his intensity. I just couldn't get why he cared about me so much. I can understand taking care of the cats in his Clan, but he seemed, I dunno, more concerned about me than he ought to be. "Uh, okay," I said. Just then, my stomach let out an enormous rumble. I flushed and looked down, wanting to crawl under a rock and hide. Great going, Mothpaw. Embarrass yourself in front of the Clan leader. Just keep on ruining your already crumbling image.

Lighteningstar laughed, and I looked up, relieved that he wasn't mad at me. "Sorry, I'm keeping you from dinner."

"It's fine," I mumbled. "Uh…can I go now?"

Lighteningstar's eyes twinkled. "Of course."

"Thanks," I called, looking over my shoulder at him. When I faced forward again, Russetpaw was leaning over my vole. Brindlepaw and Larchpaw were looking the other way, at me, so they hadn't noticed. "Oh no, you don't," I growled, launching myself forward. No one tries to take my dinner. In a few giant strides I was right in front of Russetpaw. "Stop…right…now," I hissed. Her head jerked up, and for some reason she looked terrified.

Okay. That's odd.

It was good to be respected/feared by your arch-nemesis, but I was under the impression she hated me more than a month's worth of rainstorms and moldy food. Why was she all of a sudden acting all scared of me?

"Sorry," Brindlepaw whispered. "We didn't realize she was there…"

"That's okay," I reassured. "It's not your fault. Step away from the vole," I continued to Russetpaw. "In case you haven't noticed, it is _my_ dinner. It is by my friends, it smells like me from when I picked it up, and if you managed to miss those signs, it is off the fresh-kill pile, which means that it's been chosen by _somebody_. Kinda obvious, doncha think?"

Russetpaw backed off, staring at me defiantly, the terror in her expression fading. "Whatever," she muttered. "Stupid kittypet."

What is it with these people and the kittypet comments?! For a heartbeat, I was so sick of her and Stonepaw, I wanted to make her hurt somehow. I raised what would've been an eyebrow if I'd been human, mentally counting to ten to calm myself for the second time in one day. "And yet, here _I _am, going to the next Gathering and my assessment passed with flying colors. And there _you _are, with a sprained paw, not going to the Gathering, and your assessment not even taken yet," I pointed out. She glared at me, eyes smoldering with fury, and stalked off, not saying a word.

That was even weirder. Normally, she'd stay and throw more insults at me. Why is everyone acting so bizarrely today?

I caught another strong whiff of delicious vole, and I mentally shrugged. Plenty of time to figure that out later on.

I scarfed my meal down so quickly I barely noticed the taste. I tried to slow down some, but I hadn't eaten all day, and I was starving. It was gone in less than a minute.

I sat up and started washing, my belly now comfortably full, but for some reason I couldn't pinpoint, something felt off. Then I bolted upright. "Oh, snap," I gasped. "Did we feed the elders?" I had to admit it, I had a soft spot for them. They were some of the only cats who'd accepted me right off the bat. When I'd asked why, Ashfur, a gay tom, had winked and said that when I got to be his age, all young'uns looked the same, and that as long as I worked hard, there was no reason for them not to like me. And besides that, they told great stories, too. But if we'd forgotten to bring them their meal, they might be a tad bit cranky and start the "Back in my day…" lecture, which was guaranteed to make you fall asleep.

Larchpaw shook his head. "We didn't need to," he assured me, flicking me gently on my shoulder with his tail tip. "Barkfang, Cloudfur and Brackenfoot took care of it for us while you were in Brightsong's den."

"Phew," I sighed, settling down again and licking my chest. There was this one patch of fur that stuck straight up, no matter how hard I tried to fix it.

Suddenly, my gut felt like it'd been kicked hard by a horse. I gasped in pain, twisting around and staring at my belly in shock.

"Mothpaw?" Larchpaw asked worriedly, looking up from his own wash the instant I gasped. "What's wrong?"

I tore my eyes away from my stomach and let out a shaky laugh, trying to shrug it off. "Guess I ate too quickly," I said. Yeah, that had to be it. And the pain was gone now –

I spoke too soon. Another horrible seizure struck with the force of a small truck. I let out a shriek of pain, doubling over in agony. _What's wrong with me?! _

"Mothpaw!" Larchpaw's and Brindlepaw's terrified voices sounded close to my ear. I twitched from the pain on the ground, staring up at them, not even bothering to hide how scared I was. "What's going on?!" I rasped. Larchpaw froze as I spoke, then leaned in closer, sniffing at my whiskers, then darted over the bones of my vole and smelled them.

"Deathberries!" he gasped.

Brindlepaw sucked in a breath. "How can you sure?" she cried.

"My brother's a medicine cat," he answered shortly. "Go get Brightsong!" Pawsteps scampering off. Then he was at my side again. "Mothpaw! You've got to get up," he begged.

I gritted my teeth against a scream and tried, but my legs wouldn't support me. They were starting to go numb… I can't stand, I tried to say, but nothing came out. I blinked, my eyesight getting darker and darker, trying to shove off the shadowy mist, but then thousands of black dots rushed my vision and my eyes closed in defeat.

**What will happen to Mothpaw? Who hid the deathberries in her vole, and why? New chapter coming as soon as I can type it!**

**Warrior names are still appreciated, and please review! **

**P.S. A battle chapter coming up soon, one or two chapters after this. **


	15. Chapter 11

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!!! And also to Cucumber Periwinkle, thanks for your help! This chapter might be boring, but it's a filler for the next one. Enjoy!**

**_Chapter Eleven_**

I blinked open my eyes, feeling empty and washed out. The first thing I noticed was that my nest was moved right to the front of the cave, facing its opening, so that my claustrophobia didn't bother me.

_Thank you, thank you, thank- _

A heap of tabby fur bowled me over.

"Oh, thank StarClan, you're alive!"

I coughed, feeling like my ribs were going to crack under Brindlepaw's enthusiastic greeting. "Can't…get rid of me…that easy," I choked, "although your hug might do it."

"Oops," she said sheepishly, stepping off the nest. Then she cocked her head to the side. "What's a hug?"

"A hug is a sign of affection humans do a lot, especially to friends."

"Oh."

There was a short silence as Brindlepaw digested the information and I tried to recall how in the world I'd gotten to Brightsong's den.

"What happened after I blacked out?" I eventually asked, unable to bring anything to mind.

Brindlepaw blinked, jerked from her thoughts. "Huh? You mean, you don't remember anything?"

I frowned, searching through my brain. Actually, I did vaguely remember someone force-feeding me some truly nasty leaves that made me throw up, but they weren't exactly happy memories. I shuddered. "Uh, a bit. But how in the world did I get here?"

"Oh! Well, after you closed your eyes, you started twisting and writhing all over the place, and making this shrill scream. Larchpaw was freaking out. He tried to pick you up, but you wouldn't stay still, and he couldn't get you farther than a few tail lengths. Pretty much everyone in the camp, even Lighteningstar, came to see what was happening, so when I brought Brightsong, we had to shove people out of the way. Then she fed you some yarrow to get the deathberries out of your system, and then you just lay there, all limp. Me and Larchpaw thought you were dead," she admitted, "but Brightsong said you weren't, and then Lighteningstar himself brought you here. Brackenfoot was really scared. She came to check on you a few minutes ago, but you were still out and Brightsong made her leave."

"Oh." I blinked. _Lighteningstar_ had brought me here? Weird.

Speaking of visitors…I glanced around, hoping to see him, but only Brindlepaw was there. "So," I said, trying to act all casual, "where's Larchpaw?"

Brindlepaw blinked knowingly. I pretended I hadn't seen her. "Larchpaw wouldn't leave you. Like, at all. And he and Sagepaw almost got into a fight-" I had to check to make sure I'd heard her right. Mild-mannered Larchpaw, getting into a fight? "- and Brightsong finally snuck him some poppy seeds to knock him out so they could drag him away."

I winced in sympathy. Poor Larchpaw. But at the same time, a warm glow spread through me. He hadn't wanted to leave me. A grin fought to show itself, but then I remembered something. "Who poisoned me?" I asked, my voice harder and sharper than I'd intended.

Brindlepaw shook her head. "We don't know," she sighed. "Some of the cats who don't like you thought you ate them by accident, but me and Larchpaw said you hadn't. I don't think they believed us, but we tried."

"Thanks," I said, and I meant it. They'd stood up for me when I couldn't.

She smiled, but her amber eyes were still upset.

I changed the subject. "Who do you think it was?" I had my suspicions.

Brindlepaw blinked. "M-me?" she squeaked.

I titled my head to one side. "Yeah…why wouldn't I ask you?"

She blinked again. "I'm just an apprentice…why do you want my opinion? I bet Graystorm or Brackenfoot have some ideas."

"They weren't there when I got sick, and besides, they don't really know me as well as you and Larchpaw do, anyways. Who else would I ask?"

Brindlepaw still looked uncertain. The poor girl still had some self-confidence problems. "Uh…well, Larchpaw saved your vole for you, and he didn't smell any deathberries on it, so it must've been after he gave it to you, right? Did you smell anything different?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I was too hungry to even notice what I was eating, and besides, I don't even know what deathberries smell like."

"Yeah, I guess," she said, looking crestfallen.

"No, it was a great idea," I hurried to add, "I think you're right." I did, too.

Brindlepaw looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

She looked more enthusiastic now. You could tell she'd been thinking about this and was waiting to tell someone her theories. "Okay, so afterwards, you were about to eat it when Lighteningstar called you over, so no one could've snuck them in before that. Me and Larchpaw were worried you were in trouble, and we didn't watch the vole while you were talking to him. It was pretty close by, though. The only cat we noticed coming over to it was Russetpaw."

I wasn't surprised. That's who my musings had led me to as well. "I didn't see anyone else over there either, while Lighteningstar was talking to me," I added.

"She was walking all weird, hunched over like, but we just thought it was because of her paw," Brindlepaw continued, looking even more serious. "And she acted kind of sneaky, but then again, it was Russetpaw, and that's just how she is. But maybe she was carrying the deathberries the way Barkfang taught me to gather moss – you tuck them under your chin and bend you head down to keep it in place. And maybe she was trying to keep cats from noticing her."

"And when I saw her, she wasn't trying to take it, or devour it before I got to her, like she would've if she'd wanted to eat it," I remembered. "She backed away acting all scared."

"And we know she hates you. No offense."

"None taken. You know how she's always around Stonepaw? I bet she was mad that I'd beat him and he'd gotten in trouble."

"It had to have been her!" Brindlepaw declared, jumping to her feet. "She had the motive, she was in the right place at the right time, she had the way to get those deathberries, too – she's been cooped up in camp, so she could've grabbed them anytime!"

Her eagerness might've been laughable under different circumstances, but she _was_ my friend and this _was_ my being poisoned we were talking about. And she was right, as far as I was concerned. I might have cats that dislike me and want me out of their Clan, but I didn't think they'd go so far as to try to kill me. Russetpaw, on the other paw…I could see her doing that. She was a cat who could threaten to hurt an innocent, defenseless medicine cat apprentice to force a good cat to cooperate with her, remember?

I remembered what I'd told Brindlepaw, about Russetpaw being all bluster and not having the courage to back up her threats, and winced. That would probably come back to haunt me…

"But do you think Lighteningstar will listen?" Brindlepaw said, looking deflated. "I mean, we're accusing a Clanmate."

I shrugged. "I think he'll have to. Some way or another, I got poisoned, and he doesn't know who. He's fair - since we have an idea, he'll listen, just to see if we might be right."

"And…what if Russetpaw gets banished?" Brindlepaw whispered, amber eyes wide.

I was confused. As far as I was concerned, she deserved it. She tried to kill me!

I guess my puzzlement showed, because Brindlepaw shook her head.

"You don't know how horrible it would be. Clan cats spend their whole lives with other cats, and their Clan is like their extended family. Imagine if your friends and family threw you out? And you were alone, after always having somebody there? And normally, if someone is banished, the other Clans won't accept them, either, because they don't want to cause trouble with the Clan that banished them or the crime they committed was horrible and they don't want it to happen to them. So you'd be all alone, fending for yourself, leaving the only home you know. Banishment's worse than death."

I blinked. When she put it that way…even Russetpaw didn't deserve that. I hoped Lighteningstar wouldn't do that to her. But he was a leader – he knew what he was doing better than me. "Lighteningstar knows," I comforted Brindlepaw. "He'll know what to do with her."

"We don't have any proof, either," Brindlepaw pointed out sadly. "Just what we think."

I smiled grimly. "Then we'll just have to find some."

* * *

The next day, Brightsong let me leave her den, under the condition that I not overwork myself and no training the next day or so until she okayed it.

I like to have all my options covered, and as I was all shaky and feeling washed-out the way you do after a bad bout of sickness, trooping through the forest wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to. So, before we took matters into our own paws, I paid a visit to the one warrior I knew would listen and give good advice on the matter: Graystorm. I didn't want to drag Brackenfoot into this, as she had a responsibility to be a good, non-rule-breaking mentor, and Lighteningstar was the leader, so that obviously wouldn't work. There was no one else that I knew well enough or trusted enough to tell my theories to. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw were both out on training, so after eating breakfast I left for the warriors' den.

Graystorm, and a white she-cat with blue eyes that I'd seen around but didn't know, were the only cats inside, which was good, considering I didn't exactly want an audience.

"Mothpaw!" Graystorm greeted cheerfully. "Hello!"

"Hi," I said, smiling back. You can't help but smile when you're with Graystorm.

"I don't think you've met – this is Whitefoot, my mate. Brightsong just told us yesterday that she's expecting kits!"

"That's great," I exclaimed. "Congratulations!"

Whitefoot grinned shyly. "Thanks," she said softly.

Graystorm beamed, watching as we introduced ourselves, then asked, "So, what do you need?"

"Uh…" I shot a glance at Whitefoot. She seemed really nice and sweet, and I didn't want to be rude, but should I be saying this in front of her?

She caught my look. "It's okay," she assured me. "Whatever it is, I won't tell."

Somewhat reassured, I turned back to Graystorm. "I think Russetpaw was the one who poisoned me," I blurted out. No use beating around the bush.

Graystorm looked surprised and instantly serious, while Whitefoot looked shocked. "This is serious," he cautioned. "You're accusing a Clanmate of one of the worst offenses she can commit."

His reaction was exactly how I thought it would be. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you have any definite proof?"

"No," I admitted.

"Then you can't lay blame on her," he said flatly.

It wasn't a surprise, but it was still a little disappointing. I sighed and turned to go, but I wasn't beaten yet. Not by a long shot.

"Mothpaw!" Graystorm called after me. I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

"Are you going to go out looking for clues?"

He knew me too well. I put on my best innocent face. What? Break the rules? Me? Never!

He sighed. "I'm not going to stop you, or turn you in," he meowed. "Although I probably should. You're not my apprentice, or my kit. It's none of my business. But be careful, okay? When you go looking for trouble, it has a habit of finding you when you least expect it. And you know what'll happen if you get caught."

"Yeah. Thanks, Graystorm."

He nodded, and I slipped out of the warriors' den and into the sunlight.

* * *

Larchpaw and Brindlepaw joined me next to the nursery as soon as they got back from training, for our Operation: Espionage. The first place we were gonna look: the deathberry bush.

And yeah, I know what you're thinking – wow, that's corny. Well, we knew no one would believe it was Russetpaw unless we had something to back it up with. That much was obvious, especially with half the Clan thinking I'd poisoned myself on accident (puh-lease!). And like Brindlepaw said, we were accusing a Clanmate – we had to have good, concrete evidence if we wanted anyone to even consider our theory. I guess I could've just let the incident go, but I really didn't want that to happen to me again, or my friends; and if Russetpaw did it once, I was willing to bet a moon's worth of tick-searching she'd do it again.

And besides, what's a mission without a code name?

"What if we don't find anything?" Brindlepaw fretted in a whisper as we slipped out of camp from behind the nursery.

"Russetpaw's not the sharpest crayon in the box," I muttered confidently. "She'll have left something behind."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence as we slipped up the ravine; luckily my light cream-colored fur didn't look to different from the color of the stone. I didn't have permission to leave camp, although Larchpaw and Brindlepaw did. If I got caught it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it would make me look irresponsible and disobedient, the kind of cat who'd accidentally eat deathberries. I could've stayed and Larchpaw and Brindlepaw could've gone by themselves, but I didn't want to miss this. And the sneering glances and remarks were a whole lot worse, as you can imagine – "The stupid kittypet poisoned herself! What kind of idiot eats deathberries? Just how dumb is she?"

You get the picture. Those were the kinder ones, too.

We made it into the forest without the cats on watch duty spying us, even though my legs were shaking – being poisoned really takes it out of you. It gave me a spark of surprise that we actually made it. You know how my luck is.

It's kind of sad when three inexperienced apprentices can sneak out of camp without drawing a glance.

"What's a crayon?" Brindlepaw asked once we got past the fringes of the wood and could talk freer.

"They're tools humans use for drawing, or making shapes. They can come in all colors – green, red, brown, black, blue, purple. Do _not _eat them." I knew that by hard experience.

"Oh. Okay." There was a heartbeat of silence. "What's a box?"

* * *

Once we got to the deathberry bush and I'd explained what a box was, our hunt for clues started. I assigned each one of us a specific part of the bush to look over, warned them to be alert for any cat coming this way and to make sure they didn't mess up any evidence, and we got to work. I glanced over at Larchpaw every now and then. He looked so cute, with his mouth in a serious little frown, his whiskers twitching in concentration. I was so glad he was willing to do this; I was so lucky to have him as a friend…I remembered when he saw me out of Brightsong's den for the first time, yesterday morning. He'd smiled, his whole face lighting up, and he'd bounded to my side in two great leaps, touched his nose to mine, and covered my face in licks. I'd been just as glad to see him, if not more. I'd been happier than I'd been in a long time, as I caught up on what I'd missed the last two days with him and Brindlepaw.

I jerked out of my memories as I caught Brindlepaw laughing at me. I made sure to avoid watching Larchpaw from that time on.

It was Larchpaw who found it – a scrap of ginger fur caught on a twig and some snapped-off sticks from the bush where deathberries had been yanked off. Russetpaw had been smart enough to hide her scent – all we could smell other than the normal forest smells was an overpowering odor of mushrooms. But the fur was Russetpaw's – it was the exact shade if her red fur, and the tiniest whiff of her scent still clung to the roots of it. The snapped-off twigs were too far in for any warrior to reach, but for a still-growing apprentice, it might've been a tough fit, but it sure was possible. And then, in the soft, damp earth under the bush, the faint impression of a paw print – too big for my smaller-sized feet and Brindlepaw's paws, but too small for Larchpaw's.

The clues were the smallest things, almost unnoticeable, tiny details that we glanced over a hundred times before we noticed they were there; and even then we only saw them because we knew what we were looking for. Took us longer than you'd think – at least an hour or so – but we had our proof. All we had to do now was get Lighteningstar or someone else and Russetpaw to come with us here, and case solved, point proven!

I smiled at my friends. "Brilliant job! There's no way they can disregard us now!"

Brindlepaw whooped and gave a little jump, and Larchpaw grinned happily in that quiet way of his, tail held high and whiskers twitching in satisfaction.

We were back in business!

**Yes, a little boring, but a filler for the next chap, which ought to be up in a short while. It's got a twist in it; I'm excited to start writing it! **

**Review please!**


	16. Chapter 12

******Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.**

******SCHOOL'S OUT! WHOO! **

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! Sorry about the long wait, but hopefully this will make up for it. Plus, it's long; it was 7 pages on Microsoft word, so a page longer than usual. I ought to get more chapters up in a shorter time since it's now the summer - YAY! Anywho, still accepting warrior name ideas, for any of the apprentices.**

_**Chapter Twelve**_

We were all still grinning at each other when the bracken to our right rustled and parted. All of us froze, smiles fading, and turned slowly. My heart plunged faster than a downhill roller coaster and my blood pounded in my ears with shock and quickly rising fury.

Russetpaw slunk into the tiny little clearing, looking behind her shoulder as if afraid she'd been followed. I'd never seen a truly crazy person before, but I think Russetpaw qualified. Her fluffed-up fur was all mussed up, sticking up in clumps with bits of leaves and dirt caught in it. She was muttering under her breath, and her green eyes were wide as saucers, slightly glazed over and unseeing. She jumped at the sound of the bracken settling back into place behind her and startled when her paw grazed a pebble.

Russetpaw was starting to severely freak me out.

I silently edged in front of Brindlepaw, and Larchpaw, apparently getting the same creeped-out feeling I was, inched to my side and stood so closely our fur brushed, ears back, hackles bristling and his lips curled over his teeth, exposing his very sharp-looking fangs.

Russetpaw startled again at a sudden wind rustling the trees. I hunched over slightly, flexing my muscles, ready to run, attack or leap away.

It was weird that in her twitchy state Russetpaw didn't notice us until a few seconds later. When she did, she flinched, mouth open in a silent scream.

We just stood like that, staring at each other. Russetpaw's eyes flicked form us to the deathberry bush and back and forth; you could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she put two and two together.

All three of us jumped a tiny bit when Russetpaw spoke, almost to herself, it seemed. "I'm gonna have to kill you now, for real," she said, her voice a rusty, hoarse sounding croak. "All three of you." Her claws slowly unsheathed, and her teeth bared.

Brindlepaw whimpered, and that more than anything gave me a boost of courage. "Russetpaw, you don't have to kill us. Lighteningstar will judge you fairly," I pointed out, trying to stop her from doing anything drastic.

She stared at me without the hatred I normally saw when she looked at me, and for a second she looked like a tiny kit, small and scared and confused. What she'd done to me had shocked and scared her, I realized. I understood, in a way – I'd never poisoned anyone, but I knew the feeling. When you get angry, really, really angry, you don't care what the consequences are; all you want to do is lash out at the thing that made you mad, no matter what happens. You don't think about what you're doing until after you've done it and calmed down. Russetpaw was terrified of herself, of what she'd shown she could do, and even more terrified of what it might mean for her. A twinge of pity for Russetpaw and the horrible situation she'd gotten herself into surprised me.

"But I can't let him find out," Russetpaw whispered, jerking me back to the present. "I'll be banished!"

I tried to find something reassuring to say, but nothing came to mind.

"I'll be banished," Russetpaw repeated, her voice shaking. "Banished."

Then, without any warning whatsoever, she sprang at me. She completely bowled me over, right into the deathberry bush. The wet earth underneath it squelched and stuck to my fur, sharp bits of twigs broken off in our struggle jabbing me hard enough to draw blood, leaves and berries falling all around. The forest wasn't quiet any longer – the bush was crackling loudly, Brindlepaw was screaming my name while she and Larchpaw darted around us trying to find an opening, birds blasted out of the trees around us shrieking alarm calls, and I was screeching in surprise and pain. Russetpaw, on the other paw, was completely silent except for grunts of pain when I hit her, fighting with a desperation and single-minded fury that scared me beyond words.

Nothing is more frightening than fighting someone who has nothing left to lose.

I fought and twisted and writhed, trying to give my friends an opening, because no matter how good I was at fighting, I had a sneaking suspicion Russetpaw was going to beat me if it was just me verses her. My mind flashed to a move Brackenfoot had shown me, and I raked frantically at Russetpaw's belly until she reared off me, and I did the leap-and-hold move, ideal for a small cat (me) facing a larger opponent, jumping onto her back and squeezing her sides with my claws, but she dropped and rolled, squishing me underneath her and forcing every ounce of air out of my lungs. I gagged, gasping for air, but it gave my friends the opening they needed as Russetpaw turned her back on them and pinned me to the ground. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw hit her broadside, sending her tumbling off me.

I lay on the ground, completely winded and feeling like I'd gotten run over by a truck. I had to admit, my friends fought really well – tiny Brindlepaw darted around, targeting Russetpaw's extremities (her tail, legs, ears, scruff), since she was small and untrained compared to Russetpaw, while Larchpaw attacked her head-on. I'd seen him fight before, calm and cool, calculating, but this time a cold fury was added to the mix, his yellow eyes narrow slits, his ears flat against his head, and his neck fur bristling up. Russetpaw, caught off guard by Larchpaw and Brindlepaw's combined attack, was driven back.

Larchpaw's voice was icy as he took advantage of her retreat, emphasizing each word he said with a powerful blow to Russetpaw's head. "Don't…you…ever…hurt …Mothpaw…again!" he hissed furiously, Russetpaw reeling from the strength of his strikes.

Finally, I had enough air in my lungs to do something other than gasp like a fish out of water. I hauled myself up and joined the attack, bounding forward and lunging into Russetpaw's side, flinging her over onto her belly. I jumped on top of her and pinned her securely to the ground. "Why do you hate me so much?" I growled, my nose barely an inch form her face.

She bared her teeth at me, and for a heartbeat I was sure she wouldn't answer. Then she spoke, every word sounding like it was clawed from her throat. Once she'd started, the words came faster and faster, like she'd been holding it back but the dam had finally broken. "You really want to know? You're smart, pretty, and talented," she spat. "Your mentor likes you! Nothing I do is ever good enough for Ravenfoot! And you have Larchpaw-" I blushed – "but Stonepaw doesn't even like me, even though everything I've ever done was for him! Lighteningstar favors you! And you _aren't even one of us_!" she snarled.

What?

Russetpaw suddenly gave a monumental heave, and I was caught off guard. Flinging through the air, I went straight off the side of the ravine and rolled uncontrollably to its bottom, landing hard on my back and banging my head against a rock. I felt warm blood trickle from where I'd hit my head, but I didn't feel any pain; lots of tiny black dots flooded my vision and started to hide my view of the sky, but then I gasped, sucking air into my empty lungs. I heard crashes and yowls, but I was so dazed I didn't know if they were my imagination, my friends or something else. A heavy weight suddenly was on my chest, and the sky was blocked by a red-furred head.

"I'm sorry, but I gotta do it," Russetpaw mumbled. "I gotta do it, or you'll tell." She raised a paw, and I saw her needle-sharp claws extend, silhouetted against the blue of the sky, and all I could do was watch in growing horror as Russetpaw steeled herself for the killing blow. Time seemed to slow down. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw were screaming, and I blinked, trying to turn my head to find them. There they were, racing with all their might down the ravine's steep incline, but there was no way they'd make it.

I smiled at them, and closed my eyes, bracing myself. The crashes and yowls were a whole lot closer, I reflected with a sort of detached interest. Were the Clans' ancestors, StarClan or MoonClan or something like that, coming for me? They were rather loud and ungraceful-sounding for divine, all-knowing spirits.

Then the noises stopped.

"Russetpaw? What in StarClan's name are you doing?" A shocked cat yowled.

Surprised that Russetpaw hadn't ended it yet, I opened one eye, turning my head slightly. My neck twinged; I guess I'd cricked it when I'd landed on that rock. _Ouch._

There stood a panting Graystorm, a shocked but quickly growing furious Lighteningstar, the deputy Lightfur (whose jaw had dropped), and a stunned Whitefoot.

_Thank you thank you thank you…_Lighteningstar had an impeccable sense of timing. I wasn't dead!

I flicked my gaze over to Russetpaw. She didn't move; she just stared at the patrol, absolutely frozen, her claws about a whisker breath from my neck. I gulped and felt the ends of them prick against my skin.

After that I held still.

Behind Lighteningstar, Graystorm was still standing with his head bowed, huffing and puffing, Lightfur had shut her jaw with a snap and Whitefoot's eyes were narrowed into slits, her hackles bristling. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw finished their wild slide down the ravine and started to run towards me, but Lightfur held her tail in front of them, an unspoken signal to leave this to Lighteningstar. Larchpaw shot her a glare and fixed his eyes on me, fidgeting. He mouthed the words _Are you okay?_ at me.

It was a somewhat stupid question. Getting tackled and attacked by a madcat, falling down a ravine, and almost getting murdered are generally not okay. But I understood – I'd ask the same if I was in his paws. I tried to find a way to tell him yes, but my mouth was full of blood (I'd bitten my cheek while falling, so mouthing words wouldn't really work; thank heaven none of my teeth were loose) and Russetpaw's claws were still at my throat and my neck was stiff anyway, so nodding was out of the question. Pretty much out of options, I gave him a reassuring blink.

He seemed to get what I was trying to say and relaxed slightly.

Lighteningstar stalked forward, and even though his anger wasn't directed at me, I had to suppress a shudder. Russetpaw hastily clambered off me, not making a sound other than her quick, panting, terrified breathing. The white and black leader carefully stepped over me and stood protectively between us, in case Russetpaw attacked again, although he needn't have bothered - Russetpaw was paralyzed with fear.

"Can you get up, Mothpaw?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Russetpaw's.

I coughed and spat out blood so I could talk. "Yeah." I sounded awful, my voice all thick and raspy sounding.

Even without Russetrpaw pinning me, I felt squished flatter than a pancake. I waited until I was sure I could get to my paws without keeling over, then slowly inched my way to a standing position. Russetpaw's claws had scored furrows through my fur and sliced through my skin, and my wounds screaming fire. My claws felt all snagged up with clumps of Russetpaw's fur, my muscles burned and shook, and boy, does blood taste _nasty. _I staggered to a small puddle to rinse my mouth out.

Once my mouth was washed and several gulps of water had helped stop my legs from shaking and cleared my head, I went to stand next to Lighteningstar who had been patiently waiting for me to clean up.

"So," he began, voice icy calm, "what exactly were you apprentices doing?"

Russetpaw didn't look like she'd regain her ability to speak anytime soon, and I wasn't about to make my friends take the heat, so I took a deep breath that almost killed my bruised ribs and spoke up. "I was looking for evidence."

"Of what?"

I swallowed. Lighteningstar's eyes seemed to bore into me. But there was no way on this earth I'd show fear, not in front of Russetpaw or Lightfur or anyone else. "Russetpaw was the one who fed me the deathberries. I was trying to prove it because I knew no one would believe me. We finally found some proof and then Russetpaw appeared to erase what she'd left behind and attacked me and - and here we are."

Lighteningstar's eyes had grown wider and wider during my little narrative, and there was a tense moment of silence. I held my breath; I didn't dare look behind me at the others' expressions. _Believe me believe me please believe me – _

"Russetpaw? Can you explain yourself?"

At least he didn't question me. That was a good sign.

It took Russetpaw several tries to make herself heard, and then she had a stutter. "I-I d-didn't poison her. I saw them l-leave and since Mothpaw wasn't supposed to b-be out of camp, I followed, and then she accused me of p-poisoning her, and I said I h-hadn't and she got mad and at-attacked me." She showed great ability to lie under pressure, despite her stuttering. I gritted my teeth; me attack her? I had to hold myself back from flinging myself at her and finishing what she'd started.

Lighteningstar raised what would've been an eyebrow if he'd been human, then turned to Brindlepaw and Larchpaw. "Let's hear your sides of the story."

"Mothpaw said it all already," Larchpaw said, and Brindlepaw nodded vigorously. "Except for the fact that we were with her the whole time."

I growled to myself. I'd specifically left that out so they wouldn't get in trouble. But I wasn't mad at them; I was glad to see them stick up for me.

Lighteningstar nodded. "Thank you." He paused for a moment. "Mothpaw?"

"Yes?"

"There's none of your evidence left?"

"No…it was wrecked in the fight," I admitted reluctantly. I didn't even have to look – when Russetpaw had jumped me, we'd careened into the deathberry bush. If the paw print in the mud was still there, it would be all messed up and surrounded by plenty of other pawprints, and the fur scraps we'd found wouldn't matter either, since there'd be fur everywhere from the fight. All the time we'd looked and everything – it was wasted.

I had a sudden urge to cry. You can only take so much before you get overwhelmed and weepy, and I'd reached my limit.

"All right," Lighteningstar sighed. "There is no concrete evidence condemning Russetpaw, so I'm afraid she can't be accused of poisoning you."

I was wrong. _Now _I'd reached my limit. Hearing him say it made it seem even worse.

But hey – he only said that he couldn't convict her, not that he didn't believe me. That could be a good sign.

"HoweverBut," Lighteningstar continued, "Russetpaw, you attacked and tried to kill a Clanmate-"

"B-but _she's_ the one who tried to kill m-_me_," Russetpaw protested, still clinging to her lie.

Lighteningstar turned and fixed her with a cold yellow gaze. "I think not, for six reasons. One, you're stuttering, which implies that you're not a guiltless as you want me to believe. Two, you were the one standing over Mothpaw ready to deliver a killing blow. Three, Mothpaw nearly beat Stonepaw in her assessment, and Stonepaw is the best and most experienced apprentice at fighting we have, which says something about her abilities. Four, Graystorm warned me Mothpaw might run into trouble, not that she was the one causing it. Five, you don't have as many injuries as Mothpaw has, which is normally not the case if you were the victim of a surprise attack. And six, you're overruled – your account contradicts four others."

Russetpaw seemed to shrink with every word out of Lighteningstar's mouth.

"You know we never kill, even in battle, unless we have to, and we definitely don't try to murder Clanmates. I won't banish you, since you're still young and learning, but until you learn to act like a Clan cat, you will be treated like an outsider."

I would've cheered to see justice being served, but the circumstances were too serious for cheering. And I'll admit it, I was a tiny bit glad she wasn't banished - she still got a pretty fair sentence, but she wasn't kicked out. At the same time, though, there was a nagging worry that she might do something bad again…I decided it was paranoia. Russetpaw looked too scared to do something like poison again.

Lighteningstar padded forward until he was directly in front of Russetpaw, towering over her on his long legs, and stared down at her. "Russetpaw, I strip you of your name and place in ThunderClan."

She trembled, nameless and Clanless, looking more like a frightened kit than a half-grown cat. Another surge of pity surprised me, and I ruthlessly shoved it back.

"You will now be called Russet and will be seen as an outsider to the Clan until you have truly learned our ways."

Russetpaw – no, Russet now – bowed her head, like she couldn't bear to hold it up anymore.

Darn conscience. It keeps coming back to haunt me.

"Graystorm, Whitefoot, escort Russet to camp, please. She will stay at the opposite end of elders' den - the hollow log. Assign someone to guard her."

"Right." Graystorm took up his position on Russet's left, Whitefoot on her right. Graystorm smiled at me over his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll stick to her better than a pricker bush."

I grinned back, then winced as a scratch over my eye stung. "I'll hold you to that promise," I replied.

He winked and Whitefoot gave me a farewell nod, they padded off.

My shoulders slumped as I finally let myself relax, then cringed as tender spots from where some of my fur had been pulled out burned. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw raced over to me. Brindlepaw let me lean on her and Larchpaw helped me clean myself off.

I suddenly remembered that Lighteningstar was still there. He was watching us with an unreadable expression.

"You believe me, right?" I asked, still hopeful.

"Yes. I do. Russet will be watched closely. You don't need to worry."

I felt all warm and fuzzy knowing that someone trusted me, and I sighed in relief, twisting around to wash off a stubborn patch of blood on my side. If Lighteningstar was keeping an eye on her, then there was no reason for me to be nervous.

"But-" he started. I mentally groaned; sentences that start with "but" are almost never good news.

"-you snuck out of camp when you knew you weren't supposed to, and your friends supported your decision. You will all be banned from training for a few days until you've learned their lesson, and you will fill your extra time with elder duty. After you go see Brightsong."

This time I really did groan out loud.

I really can't go a month without getting myself hurt in some way. I guess that's what I get for breaking the no-leaving-camp-rule.

I hate karma.

**Like it? Review please! Warrior names still appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 13

**Thanks to my reviewers! This chapter is more of a filler, but it has a little bit of action in it. Hope you like it!**

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

Brightsong made me stay overnight, just in case there were "complications" (if I had hands I'd do air quotations). I thought I was fine, really; compared to other injuries I've gotten, these were like tiny scratches. So when she wouldn't let me leave after she was done treating me, I'd tried to sneak back to the apprentice's den.

It didn't end well.

Brightsong cuffed me over the head and gave me The Glare - a death stare that would make even rocks cower. I took the smart course and walked meekly back to my nest, curling up with my tail over my nose. Brightsong didn't give me the what-were-you-thinking-you-could've-hurt-yourself-worse lecture, for which I was unspeakably grateful, but she didn't trust me after my failed escape. She stretched out right in front of the den entrance – there was no way I could make a break for it without waking her up.

I know when I'm beaten. I gave up quietly and forced myself to go to sleep, which was hard with the sharp mishmash of herbs smells and the uncomfortable stickiness of the poultices on me. At least Russet wasn't there too, which would have made it unbearable; Brightsong had treated her wounds at Russet's new prison under the hollow log.

The next morning, she still wouldn't let me leave the den, probably as a punishment for trying to run off. There was nothing for me to do – she didn't need any more herbs, they were all sorted neatly, and she had no patients that day, so I played a bored game of moss-ball with Sagepaw. It didn't mean that I'd forgiven him or anything, but sometimes having nothing to do leads to soul-searching, and I decided to try to get back on good terms with him since he really had just been trying to do the best thing. Sagepaw looked happier than I'd seen him in a long time when I asked him to play, and what do you know – soon we were best friends just like before, laughing and joking around.

We actually scared Brightsong when the moss was thrown as little too hard and thumped her on the side. She yelped and jumped, hitting her head on the stone cave. We were cracking up so much that we were rolling about on the ground crying, but then she got mad and kicked me out. Literally.

But hey, I was free!

Sagepaw was withering under The Glare and was too busy crawling away to pay much attention to me when I called goodbye to him.

I slunk away while I had my chance.

Larchpaw and Brindlepaw were out training with Cloudfur and Barkfang (so was Stonepaw, but who cares about him?), Russet was under guard and all that, and Sagepaw was getting a tongue-lashing, so I was on my own. Brightsong would really blow her top if I persuaded Brackenfoot to take me training, so that was out of the question, too…

I sighed. I wasn't hungry and I didn't want to go to sleep or sun myself or anything, either. I wanted to _do_ something. Besides, the weather was too great – sunny, but still a little on the cool side, with a nice breeze – to laze away.

Maybe a patrol? I wouldn't be doing anything "strenuous" (to use Brightsong's words) like hunting or anything, just a having a nice brisk walk around the forest.

Now that I had a mission, I perked up and went to go find Lightfur.

I poked my head into the warriors' den, and she was curled up in a ball sleeping with most of the other warriors.

Why was everyone so determined to doze the day away?

Getting my fur to be clawed off for waking Lightfur up wasn't very high on my To-Do list, so I guessed I'd have to find Lighteningstar. I wasn't sure if apprentices were allowed to randomly go see their leader, though…guess I'd find out. Sitting around any longer would drive me crazy. I padded up to the big boulder Lighteningstar had his den underneath and took a deep breath.

"Hey, Lighteningstar? You in there?" Stupid question, of course he was. "Uh, I mean, can I..can I come in?"

There was a chuckle from inside. "Sure, Mothpaw."

Phew. "Thanks." I pushed aside the moss curtain and peered in. It was a whole lot roomier than I thought.

Lighteningstar was sitting up and looking awake, which was good because I'd have felt way guilty if I'd woken him up.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

I trailed a paw in the cool sandy floor. "Uh…I was really bored, and I was thinking about what I could do that Brightsong wouldn't be mad at me for, and Lightfur was asleep…so I was wondering if I could go on a patrol?"

He smiled. "Sure. Who do you want to bring with you?"

He was letting _me_ choose? "I dunno…I could go ask if anybody wants to, I guess."

Lighteningstar nodded. "When you get three or four other cats to join you, head out to the forest and patrol along the Twolegplace. We haven't sent a patrol there in a while."

I had to fight back a wave of homesickness at the thought of my old home, although to my surprise, it wasn't near as bad as it used to be. I quickly got it under control and forced a grin. "Great! Thanks, Lighteningstar!" I called over my shoulder as I left.

Hmm, who to bring… maybe Graystorm would want to. And Whitefoot (if she wasn't too pregnant yet) and Brackenfoot; I felt bad that we haven't been able to train in a while.

Graystorm and Whitefoot were washing each other next to the warriors' den.

"Hey, Lighteningstar said we could do a patrol, you guys want to come?" I called as I jogged over.

Graystorm grinned. "Sounds good to me." He glanced at his mate. "Whitefoot?"

She nodded. "I need to get some exercise."

"Who else were you planning on bringing?" Graystorm asked.

"Brackenfoot."

"Go get her. We'll be waiting by the tunnel entrance."

"Gotcha." I remembered seeing Brackenfoot in the warriors' den, so I poked my head in. She was talking to a light gray tom with yellow eyes. I think his name was Pebblefoot or Pebblefur, something like that.

Hmm, she was blushing too. And laughing at something he'd said. And her eyes were shining.

Aww! A girl knows the signs - Brackenfoot had a crush on him! Maybe I could get him to come on the patrol, too, for Brackenfoot's sake.

I carefully picked my way between tails and thrown-out legs; I couldn't call to them from the entrance unless I wanted my whiskers pulled out by a bunch of angry, woken-up warriors, so I had to actually go to them.

Brackenfoot saw me first. "Hi, Mothpaw."

"Hey."

Pebble-something looked me over, and I couldn't help standing up a little straighter. "This is Mothpaw, your apprentice?"

Brackenfoot nodded. I had to admit it, I felt a little flattered – she talked about me?

"She's an awesome mentor," I told Pebble-what's-his-face. He grinned.

"I bet she is. From what I've heard, she's trained you really well."

Brackenfoot was practically glowing at his compliment, despite how much she tried to hide how pleased she was. "So, why'd you come?" she asked.

"You two want to go on a patrol around Twolegplace?"

"Sure."

"Why not?"

I smiled to myself at Brackenfoot's expression when Pebble-cat (I'm pretty sure it was Pebblefur, so I'll just call him that) agreed. Yup, she had it bad. "Alrighty then. Graystorm and Whitefoot are waiting at the entrance," I said, and carefully backed out of the den.

They followed me out and we headed off into the forest, me letting Graystorm lead since he was the oldest and all that. Pebblefur and Brackenfoot padded side by side, and once I caught Pebblefur sneaking glances at her. They were so cute together, I wanted to aww.

I picked up my pace and joined Whitefoot so that they could have some space. She was definitely heavier than before, but you couldn't tell very much unless you were actually looking for it. "So, thought of any names for them?" I asked.

She smiled happily. "I've been thinking of some, but in the Clans, we usually name our kits based on their appearances or traits."

"Oh." I felt stupid now.

Whitefoot saw my expression. "It's okay, Mothpaw. I was thinking maybe Treekit, Ivykit or Breezekit if I have a she-kit, and maybe Gorsekit if it's a tom - " She froze, breaking off midsentence, and sniffed the air suspiciously.

I was enough of a Clan cat now to know that if a fellow Clan member smells something wrong, you shut up, keep still and try to smell it yourself, especially if it's Whitefoot, who was well-known for her sharp nose. I stopped next to her. Graystorm, nosing around some strong-smelling herbs he'd spotted for Brightsong, froze too, and Pebblefur and Brackenfoot stopped midstep. I scented the air, and tried not to gag at the nasty cat stench – it smelled like what the Clan cats called crowfood. Think of the sharp-smelling scent of a small animal, like a rabbit or something, that was rotting, long dead and had baked in the sun for a week. That's what it smelled like.

"Rogue," Whitefoot whispered.

My fur fluffed up. A rogue? Here? Twolegplace was supposed to be the Land of Nothing-Ever-Happens-Here...but with my luck, of course there'd be a potentially dangerous cat. I sighed. I was _not_ in the mood for yet another fight.

But if they dared attack any of my friends, especially pregnant Whitefoot, they'd discover a whole new meaning of pain.

Whitefoot took the lead, the rest of us silent and closely following. She stopped after a few minutes and crouched behind a big clump of ferns, flicking her tail at the forest beyond. We nodded, realizing that the rogue was in front of us. Graystorm took over again, and when he twitched his tail we leaped forward.

The rogue, a scrawny brown tom who looked more like a rat that a cat, yelped in terror and jumped to his feet, abandoning the pile of bones that he'd been gnawing at. We quickly surrounded him, cutting off all his escape routes.

"Who are you?" Graystorm demanded.

The tom, was looked my age, swallowed hard. "Rat."

See, what'd I tell you? More like a rat than a cat. Still, though, that was a 1 on the 1-10 scale of Horrible Names. Poor guy.

Graystorm blinked. "Okay, then, Rat. What are you doing here?"

His eyes wide with fear, Rat started rambling. "I live in the city with a whole bunch of other alley cats, but it's really hard to get food and I was starving and my mother told me never to jump the fence 'cause there were wild cats there who ate bones and please don't eat me, I'm not a fighter like the rest I promise!"

I blinked, trying to untangle that sentence. Rat sure took the award for most words in one breath.

Graystorm's eyes had widened. "A whole bunch of other fighting cats?"

Rat gulped. "Y-you have to fight. Other cats steal your food or your sleeping spot if you turn your back for a second. Fights break out real easy. But I don't like it – I'm always hungry and cold and stiff and my sister was killed by a cat who wanted her steak scraps."

Whitefoot looked confused. "Steak?" she whispered in my ear.

"Meat," I translated.

"So why are you here?" Graystorm asked after a pause, a little less harshly, probably feeling as sorry for Rat as I did.

"I-I was hungry and tired of fighting."

Beside me, Pebblefur fidgeted and accidentally snapped a twig. The patrol, me included, jumped, and quick as a flash, Rat leaped forward, raked his claws over Graystorm's face with a vicious smile and raced for the fence. "See you, suckers!" he laughed as he vanished over the fence.

"That rat!" I growled, panting. I'd lunged for him and my claws had pricked the end of his tail, but he was too quick and had leaped over the fence before I could catch him.

Whitefoot was licking Graystorm's face, and Brackenfoot was comforting a self-hating Pebblefur about giving Rat his opening. I didn't blame Pebblefur - Rat would've escaped anyways – but Pebblefur certainly did. Poor guy.

I joined the others. Graystorm's left eye was squeezed shut, four long bloody gashes through it, but other than that and being angry enough to tear Rat into millions of tiny pieces, he was okay. As for Pebblefur, I figured Brackenfoot was the only one he'd believe that Rat's escape wasn't his fault. We trudged back to camp to tell Lighteningstar the news.

Turns out the day wasn't so boring after all.

I've really got to be careful about what I wish for.

**Reviews = happiness! Warrior name suggestions for Stonepaw, Russetpaw, Mothpaw, Brindlepaw and Larchpaw?**


	18. Chapter 14

**Sorry, about that, I messed up on the very end of this chapter (the voting'll be for next chapter if I haven't decided myself yet) and had to re-upload. **

**I had a question about the prologue and the story summary and how they're different, so here's the answer in case anyone else was confused: the prologue was supposed to be Mothpaw's view in the beginning of the story, where she still wants to get home. As for the summary, it's her view later on in the story, when the main conflict gets going, which it will very soon :) and she feels like the forest is her home. **

**Hope that cleared things up! Enjoy!**

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

After our little incident with that despicable alley cat, we'd reported to Lighteningstar and he'd assigned extra patrols to Twolegplace, but almost a moon later, there was no other sign of Rat and his friends. I couldn't help hoping that despite his scornful, insolent attitude, he might've been scared off, but probably not. Cowards like him don't often listen to common sense. The thought of him coming back and stealing our food and hurting my friends made my claws slide out and sink deep into the dirt. It made me even more mad that Graystorm's face was permanently scared, four diagonal lines slashing across his face. I wished we could've sent a patrol out to Twolegplace to catch him or something, but I was the only cat who'd ever been there, and since I'd hardly ever stepped foot out of my garden anyways, that plan sort of crashed and burned.

Other than that, though, the month had gone well. I went training with Brackenfoot almost every day, and my hunting had thankfully improved - battle skills were always my forte, but hunting, not so much.

Whitefoot was starting to show her pregnancy – it was about two moons now, since the big announcement, so only another moon to go unless they came early. She moved into the nursery a few days ago. It was a good thing Hollythorn only had one kit – Shadekit was rambunctious enough! She'd reached her sixth moon, too – rumor was that Lighteningstar was going to make her an apprentice tonight. And Brackenfoot and Pebblefur had started hanging out together more! They were so cute together, I wanted to _aww_ every time I thought about it.

And miracle of miracles, I hadn't gotten sent to Brightsong once! Whoo!

I still visited, of course, but it was of my own free will and not because I'd gotten myself hurt again. Sagepaw and I were now as good of friends as we were before the whole lied-to-me episode, and it was the same with Brightsong (who I was starting to think of as a mom to me. It made me feel happier than I had in a while.

And you know what was weird? I was actually starting to feel like I really belonged here. I still didn't fully believe in StarClan, and I still thought of Mark and Lucy and sometimes wondered what my old friends were up to, but it didn't bother me very much anymore, and I didn't think about them near as much. Some cats (cough cough Sandclaw-Stonepaw-Russet cough cough) still made snide remarks and such, but like I said, they didn't bother me as much anymore. Pretty much everyone else had at least resigned themselves to the fact that I wasn't going anywhere.

And you know what was even better? I was going to the Gathering tonight!

Lighteningstar had pulled me aside after training yesterday and said that that I was long overdue for a Gathering. Yay! It wouldn't be as special as Larchpaw, Brindlepaw and I going together for our first time (like it would've been if Russet had poisoned me) but at least all three of us could go this time.

So this morning I woke up earlier than I normally did, way excited. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw were curled up on either side of me like usual. I lay there for a while, trying to decide between getting to my feet and probably waking them up, or waiting for them to wake up themselves, but before I decided Brindlepaw opened one eye and grinned, and Larchpaw yawned.

"I'm too excited to sleep anymore," Brindlepaw said eagerly, and Larchpaw nodded. "You, too?"

"Yup," I replied, stretching my legs. "I bet Brackenfoot and the others are asleep, want to go get something to eat? We can go on a patrol or something later."

"Sure," Larchpaw agreed., and we padded out of the den and out into the deserted camp.

Dawn patrol probably just left, and nobody else was up and about. It was weird to see the camp so quiet and still, but nice and peaceful in a way, too. Other than the birds who were singing, it was quiet, and there was a nice breeze filled with the green forest smells and the sky was still pink…it was a really beautiful morning.

Or at least, it was quiet until we heard hushed whispers from the hollow log – Russet's end of the hollow log. We glanced at each other and came to a silent understanding.

We crept forward until we got close enough to hear what was being said. I tried to feel sorry for eavesdropping, but this was Russet the Poisoner we were talking about, and I'd just identified the second voice – Stonehead's. Um, I mean Stonepaw's (dun dun dun!).

Even this close, we had to strain our ears to hear well. "I did it for you," Russet was hissing. There was no doubt in my mind what "it" was. "And why have you been avoiding me this moon? You didn't visit at all." She sounded both hurt and mad.

Stonepaw's voice, on the other paw, was cold and furious. "Because you are a traitor to the warrior code, and if cats saw me with you, how'd that reflect on me? Cats know you were a friend of mine, and your idea wrecked my image!"

Ouch, that must've stung…Hmm. I didn't realize he cared about the code all that much, considering that one time during our fighting assessment when he tried to kill me.

Stonepaw continued, "The code is only to be broken for _real_ reasons, not because I lost a fight with a stupid, cheating kittypet." My claws sunk deep into the ground at his insult, Brindlepaw narrowed her eyes, and Larchpaw bared his teeth in a silent, angry snarl.

"Are what _are_ real reasons?" Russet asked, sounding offended.

"You'll know when you must." That sounded creepy. My ears pricked up, straining. My eye was now officially on Stonepaw.

"I thought you'd be proud, though! You're always going on about being strongest and defeating your enemies and no mercy, no pain, no weakness!" I guess that was his slogan. It fit him, what can I say? I didn't think he'd be creative enough to think it up, though.

"Yes," he sounded exasperated. "But Sandclaw says that sometimes you've gotta take your time on the path to victory. You can't just charge in blindly with no real plan!"

"I had a plan," Russet said sullenly.

"Not a real one! You've got to actually think these things out!" He sighed angrily. "I'll forgive you this once."

"Really?" Russet sounded hopeful. I felt sorry for her, and disbelief – what cat would be so gullible? Didn't she realize that Stonepaw was only using her?

"This once," he repeated. "And if you cast a shadow on my loyalty again, you'll regret it." Pawsteps, getting louder.

All three of us darted backward and tried to act casual as Stonepaw stalked out. He sent me a venomous glare, but he slunk back to the apprentice's den without a word.

Larchpaw, Brindlepaw, and I just blinked at each other. Talk about a lot of information.

"We'll have to watch him," I whispered, and my friends nodded. Brindlepaw's stomach suddenly rumbled, and we laughed.

"Let's get something to eat."

There was a pile of leftover fresh-kill from the day before, so we each took a piece and settled down side-by-side to eat. It wasn't as good as warm, actually fresh fresh-kill, but it was still food, and my blackbird was a fat one. While we dug in, I thought over Stonepaw's and Russet's conversation. To tell you the truth, I was surprised he'd forgiven Russet at all. But then again, she was his only friend – well, I didn't think he knew what a friend was, so I'll just say a follower - and the closest cat to him except maybe Sandclaw; he probably knew that she'd always come back to him, and he probably didn't want to be completely alone, so he offered her another chance.

Trying to think of all his twisted motives made my head hurt, so I decided to make it my job to keep an eye on all three of them – Stonehead, Russet, and Sandclaw (if he was teaching him stuff like biding your time for true victory and all, he was probably just as dangerous, if not more so). I pushed the thoughts to the side and focused on my meal.

After a while, when we'd finished breakfast, warriors began to trickle out of the den. Lighteningstar came out of his den, gave me a warm smile, and started to wash himself as warriors gathered around Lightfur to hear the assignments of the daily patrols. We walked over there, too, but she didn't call our names for anything.

"Can we help at all?" I asked hopefully.

Lightfur shrugged. "Lighteningstar said you get a day off since you've all been working so hard, but feel free to go on your own hunting patrols if you want. Just let me know before you leave."

We nodded and Lightfur padded off busily.

A gray tabby tom named Pouncetail – one of the newer warriors – grinned at us, especially at Brindlepaw. "If you want, I could teach you some moves or something," he suggested shyly. "If your mentors are busy."

I didn't want to take Brackenfoot away from her time with Pebblefur, but I'd been training so much I kind of wanted a break. I glanced at Larchpaw, and he nodded. It amazed me how well I could read him now. "You know, I think Larchpaw and I'll go hunting or something. What do you want to do, Brindlepaw?"

"Well…my fighting's not really up to par like my hunting is. I think I'll stay and train." She winked at me, and I realized it wasn't just for the extra training that she was letting me and Larchpaw do our own thing. "Go have fun with Larchpaw."

I smiled. "Thanks."

She trotted off with Pouncetail, who looked perfectly happy to train the pretty tabby. They started talking animatedly about battle moves.

I shuffled my paws in the dirt, shy now that there was just us, but at the same time trying to to look shy. "So…"

Larchpaw took over. "Do you want to go hunting with me? Just the two of us?" he asked, both nervous and hopeful at the same time.

Could he maybe, possibly be asking me on a DATE? Holy StarClan, YES!

I nodded and couldn't stop a goofy grin escaping. "Yeah, that'd be great!"

We told Lightfur what we were doing, and when we turned to leave, the brusque, no-nonsense deputy gave me a wink and a smile that I couldn't help grinning back at. Still, though, I was a little embarrassed – was it that obvious that I liked him? Hopefully not…

It was a really nice day, and the prey was practically running into our paws. Even me, who is not a master at hunting, managed to catch a fair amount. And it was fun, too. I was sort of worried it would be awkward with just the two of us, but it wasn't, not at all. We laughed and joked and teased and goofed around, and quiet Larchpaw talked more and laughed more than he had since I'd met him. My face started to hurt from smiling too much and my ribs started to get sore from so much giggling.

In short, I had more fun than I had in a while. It was great to take a relaxing break, just the two of us. When the sun stated to set, we gathered up our prey along with a bunch of chervil we'd found and padded off to camp, way excited to go to the Gathering.

My feet didn't seem to touch the ground the whole way there.

We got to camp just in time – we walked through the gorse tunnel as Lighteningstar leaped to the top of the Highrock and called the summons.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

We quickly dropped the prey onto the pile, ran the chervil to Brightsong's den and took our spots next to Brindlepaw, who was staring dreamily off into space.

"You okay?" I muttered.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm great! Did you know, Pouncetail's really smart, and he's good at fighting, too…"

I grinned to myself, but there wasn't time to say anything else because Lighteningstar had just started the ceremony. He smiled warmly at the dark gray she-kit sitting nervously right underneath the Highrock, her fur gleaming and newly groomed. Her mother, Hollythorn, watched proudly from the sidelines.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this kit. She would like to become a warrior of ThunderClan, but must first become an apprentice. Shadekit, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Shadepaw. Cherryspots -", a white and ginger she-cat with green eyes beamed happily – "you will train Shadepaw. Lightfur was your mentor. I hope that her intelligence and leadership skills will pass through you to your new apprentice."

"Shadepaw! Shadepaw! Shadepaw!"

Cats crowded around to congratulate her, but I hung back because I didn't know her very well and her family ought to congratulate her first. Once the crowd cleared a little, I forced my way through and smiled at her. She looked scared, poor girl. My protective instinct surfaced.

"Hey, I'm Mothpaw," I introduced myself.

"I'm Brindlepaw," Brindlepaw said cheerfully.

"Larchpaw," Larchpaw quietly finished in a friendly way.

I continued, "You'll like being an apprentice – it's hard, but it's way fun, too. We can show you around the den real fast, if you want," I offered. She wouldn't be going to the Gathering since she was a brand-new apprentice, and we already knew we were going, so we had a little time.

She nodded timidly and glanced over at Cherryspots.

"Go ahead and tell her," I said, and Shadepaw scrambled off. Once she'd gotten permission, my friends and I led her to the den.

"This is where we sleep," I explained, flicking my tail at our big clump of moss and ferns. It was so tangled, it looked like one giant nest, "and that's Stonepaw's bedding. You can have that empty nest over there if you want," I said, pointing to Russet's old nest. It didn't even smell like her anymore, and it was the only unused bedding there was, so Shadepaw could have it. "Pick any spot to sleep in." I glanced at Larchpaw and Brindlepaw, who guessed what I was about to say and nodded in agreement. "If you don't want to be alone, you could sleep next to us," I suggested.

Shadepaw nodded, shuffling her paws. "Thanks," she whispered, looking grateful.

I smiled at her. "No prob. We'll leave you to it, then."

We left her in there and padded out into the camp. I caught Larchpaw glancing at me.

"What?" I asked.

His eyes glinted with admiration. "You have a way of making cats feel wanted."

I shrugged, embarrassed. "She just needed a little push in the right direction," I mumbled, ears burning. "It was my protective side showing up. Nothing special."

Brindlepaw rolled her eyes. "You're just being modest."

I blushed even more. "Oh, just drop it."

Lighteningstar was rattling off names for the Gathering, and I gladly focused on that, ignoring my friends' comments.

"Lightfur, Brackenfoot, Pebblefur, Mothpaw, Larchpaw, Brindlepaw, Graystorm, Lionclaw, Hollythorn and myself," he called and jumped off the Highrock. My heart thumped eagerly in my chest as the cats going, us included, surged out of camp and raced into the forest.

My first Gathering! Finally!

**So, warrior names for Larchpaw, Mothpaw, Brindlepaw, Sagepaw, Russetpaw, and Stonepaw are still being decided. Thanks for your suggestions, they really helped!**


	19. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

We peered out of the bushes that ringed the top of the hollow and stared down at the other Clans. We weren't the last to arrive- I got the dark stench of something I remembered Brackenfoot telling me was ShadowClan and a fishy smell that was RiverClan. I shivered, a little nervous. I'd never seen so many cats in the same place before.

Larchpaw flicked my shoulder with his tail. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's not that scary. Watch Lighteningstar – when he twitches his tail, we run down to Fourtrees."

I nodded, feeling a little better. Then Lighteningstar flicked the end of his tail from side to side and leaped out of his crouch. ThunderClan poured down the side of the hollow, heads down below whipping around to watch. We skidded to a stop, and ThunderClan cats immediately left the group to go find friends or good seats. Brackenfoot stayed just long enough to give me some guidelines – don't tell Clan secrets (duh), try to be friendly and learn about other Clans, etc. – before joining Pebblefur, and then it was just Brindlepaw, Larchpaw and me.

"There's a group of apprentices we met last time," Brindlepaw said, raising her voice to be heard over the noise of cats chatting and calling out greetings. "Want to see if we can find them?"

Larchpaw shrugged and I nodded. Sounded good to me.

As we weaved in and out of the crowd, something struck me as odd. All the RiverClan cats were giving us the evil eye and hissing at the ThunderClan cats. A white and gray tom snarled at me as we passed, and anger prickled my fur. What on earth did I do to him to get his tail in a twist? So, I lifted my head and stared right back at him as we continued past, and I kept on glaring at him until he was out of sight.

"That's weird," Brindlepaw said nervously, her fur starting to fluff out as a speckled gray she-cat from RiverClan spat furiously at her. "RiverClan was fine last Gathering, and Lighteningstar didn't mention anything about them the past moon…"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," I muttered, and Larchpaw nodded, his ears pressed tight against his head.

We did manage to find the apprentices, which sort of made me feel better, and sort of didn't. On one paw, safety in numbers, right? And most were just as confused as we were about the sudden hostility, and once they saw we were just as clueless, they let us join their little circle. On the other paw, though, there was a RiverClan apprentice in the group, who kept glaring daggers at us. The phrase "if looks could kill" ran though my mind.

Larchpaw and Brindlepaw were recognized and welcomed, and the apprentices turned expectantly to me. I introduced myself. "Mothpaw."

I held my breath, hoping that they wouldn't realize that I was Mothpaw the housecat-turned-Clan-cat. That hope was dashed pretty quickly.

"Wait…Mothpaw? Like, the kittypet?" a dark gray WindClan tom asked curiously.

"The _ThunderClan_ kittypet?" The RiverClan apprentice, a light gray tabby she-cat, asked with a sneer, her blue eyes spiteful.

I lifted my chin. "I'm as much a kittypet as you are."

A white and gray she-cat nudged the dark gray tom. "She's a _different _Mothpaw," she said, rolling her eyes. "Would a kittypet have spunk like that?"

"A kittypet is a cat who lives in Twolegplace," Brindlepaw pointed out. "Mothpaw lives in ThunderClan. She's one of us." Larchpaw nodded firmly. My heart glowed. I loved my friends.

"Yeah, so close your mouth," the gray and white she-cat agreed, nudging her friend again. "Hello, I'm Harepaw, and this is Shrewpaw, and we're from WindClan," she said all in one breath.

StarClan did she talk fast.

"None-of-your-business-paw," the RiverClan apprentice spat. Everycat looked at her, Harepaw raising what would've been an eyebrow.

The RiverClan apprentice glared back, then sighed. "Minnowpaw," she said with a sniff, like we'd better be grateful she was consenting to speak to us lower life-forms.

"I'm Brookpaw," cheerfully announced one brown and white tabby she-cat. "SkyClan."

"I'm Nightpaw of ShadowClan," coolly said a black and white she-cat with cold amber eyes.

"Prey running well?" Shrewpaw asked.

We nodded, but didn't give out any details."Yeah. You?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Same as always."

There was an awkward silence. Minnowpaw was looking at us like she couldn't believe we were breathing her air, Nightpaw was ignoring the tension and nonchalantly licking a paw, and the others were uneasily looking from us to Minnowpaw and back again. After a little while, the quiet just got too heavy for me to bear, and I cleared my throat.

"So…did you hear the one with the tree and the squirrel?"

Soon the tension eased, and we were laughing and trading jokes. Well, most of us were. Nightpaw would smirk if she found a joke particularly funny, but other than that, she would study us with those eyes of hers. She was a little scary, in my opinion. And then there was Minnowpaw, who looked shocked that we had to gall to laugh.

Brookpaw was in the middle of impersonating a grouchy elder and the rest of us were cracking up when a tom with a mottled dark brown coat and orange eyes stepped into the moonlight from up on the Great Rock and announced the Gathering was beginning. He had a cold, quiet voice, but he didn't need to yell or anything to make himself heard. He had eyes like Nightpaw's, eyes that seemed like they could peer into your mind and see all your darkest secrets.

"That's Emberstar," Brindlepaw whispered with a small shiver. "Nightpaw's father."

"I can see where she gets her charming personality," I muttered, and Larchpaw smiled.

"I will start," he continued. No one disagreed.

Nothing very interesting was in his report – just the naming of a new warrior (Owlflight), an account of how they drove two baby foxes out of the territory towards Highstones, and prey was running well. He stepped back into the shadows and vanished - all expect for his glowing orange eyes.

"Tawnystar, would you like to go next?" Lighteningstar asked courteously. Tawnystar, a tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, dipped her head in thanks and padded forward.

"One of Larksong's kits was down with a fever, but Mistkit is recovering well. Also, one of our elders, Fogwhisker, passed away."

Cats bowed their heads in respect. There was a moment of silence.

Tawnystar cleared her throat and continued. "Our apprentices are training well…" Nothing very interesting in her report, either. I had to work to keep myself from zoning out.

Then, as Lighteningstar took a pawstep forward, Ripplestar (the leader of RiverClan - a light gray tabby tom with dark blue eyes) cut in front of him. A few cats hissed at the show of disrespect. Lighteningstar, however, just blinked and sat back down.

Ripplestar stood at the very edge of the Great Rock, his eyes boring into the crowd, then he whirled and faced Whitestar, fur bristling so that he looked twice his already considerable size.

"RiverClan claims Sunningrocks," he hissed. RiverClan cats leaped to their paws and yowled agreement. ThunderClan jumped up and yelled defiance, Larchpaw, Brindlepaw and me included – Sunningrocks was in our territory, and it was ours: Ripplestar had to have bees in his brain to think it was his. The other apprentices edged away from us, fur fluffing out.

"Really, Ripplestar?" inquired Emberstar, his voice dry. "And so soon after the last failure?"

Ripplestar turned on him. "The 'last failure', as you put it, was last leaf-bare," he snarled. I listened closely – I hadn't heard naything about this. But then again, I _had_ joined ThunderClan late spring. "Sunningrocks is rightfully RiverClan's, and we will fight for what is ours!"

Streamstar, the SkyClan leader, stepped forward. "RiverClan does have a claim on Sunningrocks. Before the river changed course, Sunningrocks was in RiverClan territory," she pointed out.

"But the river changed course," Lighteningstar pointed out. "Perhaps it is a sign from StarClan that Sunningrocks belongs to us. And besides, do your warriors want to swim every time they want to get to Sunningrocks, Ripplestar? It's silly to fight for them."

"Perhaps the river changing course was just the river changing course!" Ripplestar growled.

Emberstar's amused gaze followed one Clan leader to the other, a small smile on his face.

Tawnystar glanced anxiously from Lighteningstar to the bristling RiverClan leader, but when she finally spoke up, her voice was strong and steady. "ThunderClan has the right to Sunningrocks." She got up and padded to Lighteningstar's side.

Streamstar's whiskers twitched as Ripplestar lowered into a crouch, teeth bared. "StarClan has decreed that there shall be a truce every full moon," she warned. "Are you foolish enough to fight during a Gathering, Ripplestar?"

The gray tom stared angrily into Lighteningstar's hard, calm yellow eyes, then spun to stare at her. "And where do you stand?" he demanded.

Streamstar's gaze hardened as well. "SkyClan has no place in this argument, but if you wish to make it so, Ripplestar, then we will fight," she growled. She leaped down from the Great Rock. "This Gathering is over!" she yowled and left, her warriors streaming out behind her, roughly shoving the other Clan cats out of the way.

What? Lighteningstar hadn't had a chance to speak yet – or SkyClan, for that matter! I was seething with the unfairness of it all – Ripplestar acting like a spoiled kit and trying to snatch what was clearly ours, the Gathering being cut off, RiverClan hating us for no reason. I wanted to…I wasn't sure what I wanted. Maybe to yowl from the top of the Great Rock that the Clans better stop acting like arguing brats? Something like that.

Nevertheless, when Lighteningstar and Tawnystar leaped down from the Great Rock, Tawnystar rounding up her warriors to give us a guard and Lighteningstar giving us an order to head home, I still followed my Clan up the ridge with Larchpaw and Brindlepaw at my heels.

When we reached the top of the slope, Lighteningstar nodded courteously to Tawnystar. "We thank you for your support," he meowed, his deep mew rumbling in his chest. Tawnystar nodded and bounded with her warriors in the direction of the WindClan camp.

I looked back once at Fourtrees, and I could've sworn I felt Ripplestar's furious blue eyes following us home.

When we got back to camp, the cats milling around waiting to hear what the news was jumped up and ran towards us, then slowed and stopped at the grim looks on our faces.

"What happened?" someone called out fearfully.

"RiverClan's claimed Sunningrocks," Lighteningstar announced calmly.

Instantly there was an uproar.

"Well, they won't get them!"

"They did _what_?"

"Stupid fish-eaters!"

Lighteningstar waved his tail for silence. "Quiet, please. WindClan has offered their support, and Streamstar might offer SkyClan's, so we can expect some help. For now, I think we should expect and prepare for an attack. I want two guards posted at the gorse tunnel at all times, with constant patrols around Sunningrocks and the rest of the RiverClan border. I know it'll be tiring, but Ripplestar's too furious to let this sit for long. Lightfur, would you round up some volunteers to reinforce the thorn barrier? Brightsong, if you could stockpile herbs in case of an attack? If you and Sagepaw need help, ask one of the other apprentices to help you. Now, Lightfur, when you're done organizing volunteers, would you join me over by my den? My senior warriors, come with me, please."

Lighteningstar and the senior warriors trooped over to Lighteningstar's den, Brightsong and Sagepaw scurried off to the medicine cat den, Lightfur started calling out names for working on the barrier, and the rest of the cats got something to eat and started telling their friends what happened at the Gathering in greater detail.

Larchpaw, Brindlepaw and I waited, but nobody called our names. We each grabbed some prey and headed to the apprentice's den to sleep so we'd be ready for work tomorrow.

Actually, as it turned out, we didn't go to sleep right away. Shadepaw was crouching in her bedding (which she'd moved next to ours), too shy to come out and greet those returning with everyone else.

She blinked at us, worried. "What happened?" she asked timidly. "I heard cats shouting."

I glanced at Stonepaw. He looked like he was asleep, but his ears were pricked, alert. After a moment, I decided it couldn't hurt if he heard what had happened too. I nudged Larchpaw, smiling at Shadepaw. "Larchpaw's the best storyteller in all of ThunderClan. You'll want to hear it from him."

So we spent the next 10 minutes listening to Larchpaw describe the Gathering. He really was an awesome storyteller, once you got him to tell the story (which took a while – we spent 10 minutes before that trying to persuade him). He did voice imitations (which sounded pretty darn close to the real thing – I did a double take when he mimicked Emberstar), facial expressions, and he had dramatic pauses in all the right places. Even Brindlepaw and me, who'd seen the real thing, loved it.

Shadepaw looked up at us in awe. "Wow," she whispered. "And you got to see it all?"

I nodded. "It wasn't as great or exciting as it sounds. It was actually kinda scary – for a minute, I thought RiverClan would attack."

"And break the truce?" Shadepaw asked in shock.

I shrugged. "Ripplestar looked angry enough to take on a pack of mad dogs."

"Wow," Shadepaw repeated reverently.

Silence.

I yawned, stretching. "You know, I think I'm gonna hit the sack."

"Hit the what?" Shadepaw asked confused.

"It's an expression that means go to bed," I explained. "Don't want to be tired for your first day, right?" I asked her.

She nodded and immediately circled and flopped down in her bedding, closing her eyes and folding her tail over her nose. I had to bite back a laugh.

After we finished out late-night snack and gave ourselves a quick wash, Brindlepaw, Larchpaw and I curled up in our nests side by side as usual. They drifted off quickly, but no matter how hard I tried, I stayed awake, my head buzzing with too many thoughts for me to sleep.

What a first Gathering...

**Lots of action coming up :) Hope you liked the chapter! Reviews = happiness! I probably won't update for a while, because I'll be gone for a week and school's starting soon, but I will as soon as I can.**


	20. Chapter 16

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever! School started, I'm taking some hard classes, and I've been trying to get a new story off the ground. My free time's really limited now, so it might take a while for me to update, but I will update eventually. Again, I'm really sorry…anyways, here's Chapter 16. Hope you like it; it's more of a filler for the battle scene, and I needed to take care of some things before the battle started. So it's not very exciting…but the battle will be :)**

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

The next day was CRAZY.

Everyone was busy preparing for the inevitable RiverClan attack. Orders were being yelled, cats were racing from one end of the camp to the other, and five times I had to put on the brakes fast to avoid being ground into the dust and turned into a Mothpaw-pancake.

Most of the confusion was due to Lighteningstar's order to patch up the barrier and dens in case of an attack on the camp, which was a very smart move – more thorns in our barrier meant that RiverClan would have to go through the entrance tunnel, which only two or three smaller cats at the most could get through. Well, three was pushing it – you'd be missing half your fur when you came out and there was the factor of being crushed by everyone behind you…most likely two. And by patching up the dens, like the nursery, meant there'd be less to clean up and the kits and queens would be protected.

Anyways, as well as that, there were patrols of three cats guarding Sunningrocks at all times – the first would go in the morning and relieve the late-night shift. At the afternoon, or sun-high, the next patrol would finish the last of their prey and head over. Once they arrived, the first patrol would leave and take a sort rest and eat, then join in the preparations. Then the early-night shift finished eating, and…well, you get the point.

There were regular patrols too, in case RiverClan allies or the other Clans took advantage of our business. Apprentices were given extra battle training in the morning, then were dismissed to help out. At the moment, I was helping Brightsong and Sagepaw gather up herbs that we'd need.

Brightsong was a little more tense than usual and had taken to muttering to herself, but other than that she was managing to keep her cool. Sagepaw and I had teamed up to find chervil (in case of infected wounds) and dock (to soothe scratches), while Brightsong went to find marigold (to help prevent infection), stinging nettle (for swelling) and poppy seeds (to knock out patients). There were others, but my poor brain was too overloaded with all the herbs and treatments and explanations Brightsong had engraved into my brain. Apparently, I was being given Emergency Medical Skills 101 in case she and Sagepaw were unavailable.

Thankfully, Sagepaw knew what he was doing. He was very good at what he did, and he had a great memory. I was really grateful I'd forgiven him and patched things up between us, because he was a great friend and, well, I'd missed him. Plus, the whole teaming-up thing would've been awkward otherwise.

"So, what's next?" I asked him after we'd rounded up the chervil. Actually, it came out like "Sho, wad's nesht?" because of said chervil, which I was carrying in my mouth. My poor jaw was starting to ache, there was so much of it, and my neck was getting sore from holding my head up so that the chervil didn't drag on the ground.

"Dock," Sagepaw replied. He didn't have anything to carry yet – he'd get the dock, we'd head back to camp and drop it off, then come back for more fantastic herb-searching fun.

It was really hard to talk around the chervil, so I jerked my head in a nod and followed him down to the creek.

"Dock grows in damp places that attract a lot of water," Sagepaw explained, expertly picking his way to a clump of clumpy plants with stiff stalks and big, veined leaves growing in the dark, moist earth on the bank. I, for one, wasn't quite as graceful, and slipped several times, getting my paws and belly fur soaked.

I grumbled unintelligibly under my breath, shaking my paws out, while Sagepaw got the dock.

"Camp," Sagepaw mumbled around his own mouthful of herbs, and I nodded again and accidentally cricked my neck. _Ow. _

We were both really tired; Sagepaw had been working overtime and battle training, while awesome and way fun, tended to make you worn-out. Speaking of battle training, the mentors had wised up and not paired Stonepaw and me up, which made me kind of angry because I'd been practicing extra-hard so I could beat him up. But hey, I guess you can't have everything in life. At least my first battle was coming soon (which I was both thrilled and positivity terrified about).

So far, Stonepaw hadn't done anything suspicious (yet). But I had a cold, hard lump in my stomach, and since I hadn't had ice cream lately (I snuck a few licks off Lucy's scoop once, so yes, I knew what it tasted like), it was the bad feeling I'd always had about Stonehead - um, Stonepaw - only getting worse. Nothing good was ever come from that guy, mark my words.

Sagepaw and I leaned on each other on the walk back to make carrying our loads easier. I nodded hello to Larchpaw and Brindlepaw (who were fixing the barrier; Shadepaw, since she was a really new apprentice, was still getting battle training), glared at Stonepaw, and dropped off the leaves.

Suddenly the sunlight was blocked, and we looked up into Lighteningstar's face. We quickly dipped our heads in greeting.

"Is Brightsong here?" Lighteningstar asked, looking a little embarrassed.

"Nope," I replied. "She's still out herb-hunting."

"Oh. Alright. I won't keep you. Good work you two," he praised, and gave us a warm smile as he left.

Wonder what he wanted her for? Probably some secret leader stuff that I'd never know. Oh well.

Sagepaw and I finished sorting the herbs and left again. My pawpads started to hurt, and I groaned to myself. It was going to be a very long day…

That night, I was too tired to eat. I stumbled to my nest and flopped down, groaning as my muscles relaxed and licking my poor raw pads a few times. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw followed me in, and we groomed each other's fur the way we always did before bed.

"This battle better come soon," I grouched as we curled up next to each other.

"The waiting's the worst part," Larchpaw reassured me. "And you heard Lighteningstar, it'll be soon."

I let out a sleepy purr of thanks and felt Larchpaw's warm side vibrate with his own.

"'Night, guys," I mumbled.

"'Night…"

"Up and at 'em!"

Please tell me this wasn't happening, that I wasn't being woken up.

"Wake up."

I mumbled something that even I didn't understand and rolled over, starting to slip into sleep again.

The annoying voice came again. "I know you're awake."

…Was I?

"Get up," the voice nagged.

"Meh," I muttered. "Ten more hours."

"Sorry, Mothpaw, but no-can-do."

I blinked blearily and Brindlepaw's face swam into view. "How are you this cheerful this early?" I moaned.

Brindlepaw shuffled her paws shyly, but her eyes sparkled. "Pouncetail's going to give me battle practice before we have to help out with the preparations. Barkfang's on a patrol, so he couldn't," she explained.

I grinned, still groggy. "Great, that's great…"

"Yes it is, and you're getting up because Lighteningstar wants you," Brindlepaw said and nudged my shoulder. She didn't have to – I was wide awake at the word "Lighteningstar."

"Wha'?" I gasped and scrambled to my feet, moss flying in my frenzy. I started giving myself a hurried wash as Brindlepaw explained.

"Well, I don't exactly know, because Lighteningstar doesn't explain the meaning of every word he says to me. But I think he's checking up on your progress or something."

"At least I'm not in trouble," I muttered between licks.

Brindlepaw grinned. "There's always that," she agreed.

I quickly finished my wash and told Brindlepaw good-bye (Larchpaw and Shadepaw were still sleeping) and jogged to Lighteningstar's den. It was just before sunrise, and even though I was used to getting up early now, this was way beyond my limit. They must really be worried about that attack, I thought grimly, if they're waking us up before sunrise to get ready.

Lighteningstar was sitting in front of his den with a cheerful smile. How on earth do these Clan cats do that? Get up at an unhealthy hour that no sane cat would get up at and be HAPPY about it?

"G'morning," I said, trying to hold back a yawn and failing epically.

Lighteningstar blinked sympathetically. "It takes some getting used to," he meowed. I nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Lighteningstar curled his tail around his paws. "How are you doing with your training?"

I could see where this was going, so I decided to take care of it in one shot. "It's going great, I'm the best at battle training, yes I can fight in the battle, no I won't die, and yes I want to stay in this Clan despite its disadvantages. And no, there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me." I lifted my chin to emphasize my point.

Lighteningstar blinked. I was worried I'd offended him until a slow smile spread over his face. "You remind me of Brightsong," he laughed.

"Brightsong?" I asked, confused.

"She's one of the most independent cats I've ever known. You're a lot like her, you know."

"Yeah…I guess," I agreed. I guess I was; I _was_ pretty independent and stubborn, and I had Brightsong's temper, too.

"Anyway…I'm glad to hear that everything's going well. Brackenfoot has high praise for you."

My ears burned. Aww, shucks…

"And it's good to know your devotion to ThunderClan. You'll make a great warrior soon."

"Wait, hold the phone…soon?" I interrupted.

Lighteningstar looked confused. "What's a phone?"

"A Twoleg device." If I went into any more detail, he'd just get more and more perplexed, so I stuck with the basic definition.

"Oh. And yes – soon. You've been an apprentice for four moons now, and you're a fast learner. Only one more moon at the most."

"Awesome!" I cheered, then frowned. "What about my friends?"

"Well, Shadepaw's just barely started, so she's got some time left. By the way, I want to thank you for making her feel welcome."

"It was nothing," I mumbled.

Lighteningstar rolled his eyes, but continued. "Brindlepaw has perhaps another two moons, and Larchpaw ought to be made a warrior at the same time as you."

"Yes!"

Lighteningstar smiled. "He's a very fine young cat."

"Yeah, he is – wait a second…" How does everyone know about my crush? I mean, really, is nothing private?

Lighteningstar laughed. "He's a good cat," he repeated, then struck a more serious tone. "And you're friends with Sagepaw as well, aren't you?"

"Yeah, he's a great friend," I said, feeling slightly defensive.

"Yes, he's becoming a wonderful medicine cat," Lighteningstar agreed. There was a double meaning in his words, emphasis placed on "medicine cat."

I didn't get it, and I wasn't quite sure I'd like the direction this conversation was starting to take, so I looked around for something distracting. Turns out I didn't really have to look.

A shrill wail sliced through the air, seeming louder than it should me in the silence, making my fur stand on end and my claws sink into the dirt. "What's that?" I gasped, feeling a jolt of adrenaline. Someone was hurt!

"It's Whitefoot," Lighteningstar explained, looking grim.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, my heart starting to pound. I felt the first clutches of panic.

"Her kits are coming."

Whitefoot's kits were coming? But they weren't due for another week!

"They're coming early?" I hissed, starting to freak. My joy at my upcoming warriors' ceremony was completely forgotten now. What if something bad happened? What if Whitefoot got sick? What if her kits got sick?

"I know," Lighteningstar replied, soundly grim. "Whitefoot has been really stressed about the battle since she can't help or fight, and Brightsong already had to give her lavender several times to help her calm down. Her stress is probably what brought it on. Either way, yes, they're coming early. She just went into labor just before you woke up."

"Is she okay?"

"As far as I know, yes. Graystorm's in there with Brightsong and Sagepaw. Brightsong refused to let me in."

"D'you think I could see her?" I asked, pacing restlessly. _What if something happened to her? _

"Not right now," Lighteningstar said firmly, but his eyes were warm. "After her kits are born. I'm guessing that she just had her first one."

"What if something happens to her during the battle?" I asked agitatedly.

"We'll do everything to make sure that doesn't happen," he assured me, but I noticed he didn't make promises. You couldn't make promises like that in the Clans, because sooner or later there'd be one you couldn't keep.

I tried really hard not to think about that.

"Anyways," Lighteningstar continued, trying to take both our minds off what was happening. His ears flattened at another shriek, and his tail twitched restlessly. "I'm proud of your progress."

"Thanks," I replied tightly.

Whitefoot screeched again.

"I'm going to go reassure the warriors before they start thinking we're under attack," Lighteningstar muttered. "Go tell the apprentices, would you?"

"Sure," I agreed. Brindlepaw was out on battle training, but I could tell the others. I jogged to the apprentices' den with my ears pressed flat against my head to keep poor Whitefoot's pain out. Yikes, being a mother sounded painful. "Um, could you tell me when Whitefoot's had her kits?"

"Of course," he agreed, and padded to the warriors den, meeting a worried-looking Lightfur.

I padded into our den and was instantly glad I had – Larchpaw looked about ready to charge out and attack, Shadepaw was trying to look brave and not look like she was cowering, and Sleepy-Head-Stonepaw (curled up in his nest with gritted teeth and angry eyes; I'm guessing Whitefoot woke him up) looked irritated enough to claw someone to pieces.

"It's okay, guys," I said, ignoring Stonepaw for the most part but still keeping a wary eye on him. "Whitefoot's having her kits."

"Really?" Shadepaw asked, thin shoulders slumping with relief.

"Yeah. They're coming early, but Lighteningstar said she's alright."

"Why couldn't she have her blasted kits later on in the day?" Stonepaw complained. "Some of us need to sleep."

"I dunno, Stonepaw, I don't think any amount of beauty sleep could cure you," I quipped.

He spat angrily at me, but ignored me for the most part. I think I scared him a little, with all my extra training and all. Either way, despite the fact of our never-ending clashes, we hadn't actually clawed each other's ears off yet.

What progress!

Anyways.

"So, guys, since we've got some free time, what'd you want to do?"

Shadepaw shrugged. "I dunno. What do you want to do?"

My tail flicked thoughtfully against the ground. "Hmm...Larchpaw, tell us a story?"

The Clans' legends were actually kinda cool. Larchpaw told us the one where TigerClan got their stripes, and just as he was starting on how LeopardClan won the river, Lightfur poked her head in. "Lighteningstar told me to tell you that Whitefoot had her kits," she fired off and left. Wow, someone was busy.

"Guys, do you mind if I go visit Whitefoot?" I asked. Larchpaw smiled and nodded, and Shadepaw blinked agreement. I whisked around and jogged out. "Bye!"

Lightfur hadn't said anything about Whitefoot's condition. Was she okay? I really hoped she was okay…the Clan wouldn't be the Clan without her!

"Oh, gosh, they're so cute," I breathed. Whitefoot was exhausted, but other than that she was okay. She had two lovely kits, a black tom and a tortie she-kit. And gosh darn it, they were ADORABLE.

It had taken some persuading for Brightsong to let me in, but with me, Graystorm, and Whitefoot ganged up on her she finally surrendered and stepped aside. So, here I was, that same morning.

"What're their names?" I asked.

Graystorm answered for Whitefoot, who was too tired to do anything other than smile proudly. "The black tom is Nightkit, and the tortoiseshell is Daisykit."

"Those are great," I agreed. I lowered my face to sniff in their sweet, milky kit scents, and tiny Nightkit, his ears folded and eyes shut like all newborn, squeaked and touched his nose to mine.

My heart melted.

"He likes you," Graystorm said with a smile.

"He's a sweetheart," I whispered.

Brightsong was standing off to one side, watching us. I glanced at her, and caught her look from the kits to me with a sad expression. Her face abruptly closed off when she saw my gaze. "Okay, time for Whitefoot to get some rest," she announced firmly but not unkindly. "Come on, Mothpaw."

"Fine," I mumbled. I said good-bye to Graystorm and his new family and followed her out reluctantly.

I left the nursery the next day after my morning visit and saw Brackenfoot padding towards me. "Hey," she called. "Want to come on a Sunningrocks patrol?"

My heart leaped with fierce anticipation. "You bet," I said with a grin. And maybe those fish-heads would show their faces. The waiting had seemed to make Brindlepaw and Shadepaw more tense, but it was making me more restless. Maybe it was all the battle training, maybe it was my upcoming warriors ceremony, but there was one thought at the top of my mind.

Bring it on.

**Okay, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon as I can, but AP History's a killer. **

**Please review!**


	21. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the late update, but I was having Internet issues and my teachers have been overloading on homework...anywho, here's Chapter 17! **

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

I paced behind Brackenfoot at by the side of the river, the cool wind blowing off its glassy surface making my fur fluff. I glanced down at my reflection and sighed – I was already short, so when my fur stood on end, it made me look like a puffball on legs. Or a pincushion, if I was angry. Oh well, it made for good intimidation, right?

Thinking of intimidation and battling…

When RiverClan attacked, the fist cats they'd take out would be the patrols. Knock out the early warning system. I pitied the poor guys who'd be stuck out here when that happened, but yet I was half- hopeful that I'd be one of those guys. I wanted to fight, show what I was made of, prove to the other Clans – not just my own – that I wasn't some kittypet with dandelion fluff for brain. And I'd been battle training for ages…I wanted one chance to use it for real. I wanted to fight.

My chances were pretty good; it had already been a few days since Ripplestar's threat, and that trigger-happy psycho had to be prepping an attack. And everyone was expecting an attack at night, which meant he might attack during the middle of the day – when everyone was sleepy and sluggish and the patrols were hungry and getting ready to switch – just to throw us off.

Well, that thought cleared my brain. No way was I gonna be caught in an ambush by that psychopath. That would be just plain humiliating.

I kept a sharp lookout, focusing on the river. No other cats could swim like RiverClan, and plus they'd be slippery from the water and hard to grip during a fight and the water would hide their scent. I bet a whole moon's worth of fresh-kill that's where they'd come from, and soon.

Turns out, I was a whole lot more right than I figured.

Brindlepaw (who was a patrol member along with Barkfang, her mentor, and Lionclaw) had gotten a thorn stuck in her pad, so I stayed behind to help her get it out while Brackenfoot and the others continued the patrol. Once I'd yanked it out, I used my awesome skills of medicine-cat-ness to find some dock to help soothe the scratch. The patrol was almost over, but I didn't want her to be in pain for the rest of it.

"Lick it clean," I instructed her, and padded down to the riverbank. I found the dock quickly enough, and when I bent down to strip leaves off the stem, I glanced across the bank and froze.

Lots of cats were slinking along the opposite side of the river. The whole of RiverClan had to have come, I realized with horror. It was a good tactic – they'd overwhelm our tiny patrol and take Sunningrocks easily, and when the rest of ThunderClan came to attack, they'd have the high ground and be rested and waiting. They'd crush us like a grape.

Good for them, way bad for us.

I stayed perfectly still, praying they wouldn't notice me. The smallest flicker of movement could draw their attention to me, and I'd be the first grape to be crushed. Gulp.

But you know how my luck is. Of course some hulking monster warrior had to spot me and alert all the rest of his "little" friends to my presence. No use staying still now, I thought grimly. Icy adrenaline flooded my veins, and I dropped the dock I'd gathered into a pile, acting like I hadn't seen them yet.

Dock…Oh, snap, Brindlepaw! She was still waiting for me, totally unaware. I glanced over my shoulder anxiously, the most I could do without letting RiverClan know she was there.

Well, maybe Brindlepaw wasn't totally unaware. She was peering through some ferns at me, eyes huge with terror.

_Go get help, _I mouthed. She nodded and silently backed away. I turned back to the opposite bank, pretending I'd just been licking my shoulder, and made a big show of blinking in shock and dropping my jaw. My blood burned in anticipation for the fight, but even I wasn't that stupid. Fighting would be suicide, so I had to think of something else.

_Stall, stall, how to stall them_, I thought frantically. _Come on, gir_l!

The RiverClan cats had stopped, and seemed to waiting for me to make a move, probably something along the lines of screaming and running for the hills. It was kind of insulting. That wasn't me in any way, shape, or form; besides, I had to stall long enough for Brindlepaw to get back with help.

So I simply stared at them back unblinkingly.

They fidgeted uneasily after a few moments under my gaze, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Stall Tactic #1 was working good – for one thing, I'd turned their original plan of a surprise attack on its head. For another, I was probably freaking them out – here I was, a tiny she-cat apprentice, silently staring them down during their ambush. Plus, they couldn't really hurt me under the Code. They weren't sure what to do now.

For that matter, neither was I. What did I do now…?

Finally, Ripplestar stepped out of the throng and faced me arrogantly. "Who are you?"

I didn't bother to give him an answer, just looking at him distastefully. One doesn't talk to the gum on one's shoe.

Ripplestar got tired of waiting for a reply. "Step aside, little kit," he demanded impatiently.

I didn't move a muscle, although my claws sank deep into the mud. How dare he call me a kit! Did I call him Grandpa? No! 'Kit' was completely unjustified.

Ripplestar snarled angrily. "Fine, I'll make you! Seedfur, Tallfoot!" he snapped out.

I decided it was time to break the silence. "Stop!" I commanded, just to see what would happen. They faltered a step, surprised, but continued.

On to tall Tactic #2: Confuse and insult them. Make them do something they'd regret later.

"Must I spell everything out for you dimwits?" I asked with irritation. "I mean, seriously, if you don't know what 'stop' means, you must have the brain capacity of a teaspoon! A chair is more creative than you! A pencil would know what 'stop' means! How many grades did you miss in school? Frozen broccoli had better thinking skills than you do!"

Human words/phrases did confusing well. For Seedfur and Tallfoot, my school comment probably had as much meaning as "Snarkle boogle schnitzel thrope!"

All part of the plan.

Which, I had to admit, was working out well. Seedfur and Tallfoot had stopped. "I think she's crazy," Tallfoot called.

I rolled my eyes. "Crazy? Who are you calling crazy? I think you're the crazy one, you mangy monkey!"

"I don't care if she's crazy," Ripplestar hissed. "I want you to get rid of her!"

"Ripplestar," Tallfoot said, trying to reason with his leader. I wanted to tell him it was a lost cause, but he probably wouldn't have listened anyway. "She's no threat. And she might have a sickness."

"Why do I need to do everything myself?" Ripplestar raged. He lunged into the river and swept past Tallfoot, paddled through the middle and deepest part of the river, and stomped up to me, thrusting his face close to mine.

I backed up. "Whoa, dude, personal space! You're invading my bubble here!"

He blinked, but decided to ignore that comment. "Shut up, idiot," he snapped. "Move – wait. Aren't you that ThunderClan kittypet?"

"That's an oxymoron," I protested. "How can I be a member of ThunderClan and be a kittypet? I mean, it's like calling you a good bad guy!"

Ripplestar frowned in confusion for a moment, then shook himself. "It doesn't matter. I remember you from that last Gathering."

"You know, I seem to recall seeing you there, too," I said seriously.

He gaped at me.

I smiled back.

That, more than anything, seemed to infuriate him. He spat at me and raised a paw, extended claws curved wickedly. "If you are ThunderClan, then you must be taken care of," he stated matter-of-factly.

_Please, Brindlepaw, get here soon!_ I prayed. I backed up. "That seems little harsh," I noted. "And I was gathering herbs. I could be the medicine cat apprentice, for all you know, and medicine cats can't be harmed," I pointed out.

Ripplestar paused for a second, thinking. It looked like hard work. "…You're not," he decided finally. "The apprentice is that little gray mouse-brain. And StarClan wouldn't accept an idiot kittypet."

Okay. That did it.

"First of all," I hissed, baring my needle-sharp teeth and narrowing my eyes. My hackles rose. "My friend is not a mouse-brain. That, stupid, would be you. Second of all, how do you know they wouldn't accept a kittypet? Are you one yourself? And thirdly, _I am not a kittypet!_ I'm a loyal warrior of my Clan, which is a whole lot more than you could say! So, unless you really want to make me angry, shut your fishy-smelling mouth."

Ripplestar looked taken aback. His warriors on the riverbank seemed to be holding their breath. Then, behind me, a tiny pebble hit one of my hind feet and rolled to a stop.

I was taking a gamble here, but I was 99.9% sure I was right. "And you can kiss Sunningrocks goodbye," I told Ripplestar coldly. "Not that you even had it in the first place. Your surprise attack just flew out the window."

I backed up slowly and felt my flanks brush against warm fur. The familiar scents of my friends hit my nose, and I gave a vampire-ish grin that exposed my sharp canines.

Ripplestar's eyes snapped back to me. "You – you little -"

Lighteningstar stepped in front of me. "That's quite enough," he interrupted, voice colder than the dead of winter. "I suggest you take your warriors home and leave now."

Ripplestar considered that, then bared his fangs in a predatory smile that had my fur crawling like a thousand ants were on a death march through it.

"No, I don't think I will," Ripplestar answered pleasantly, then, blue eyes blazing madly, pounced with an inhuman screech on my leader.

I shrieked with rage and jumped forward, digging my claws into Ripplestar's scruff, but with my tiny body weight I only succeeded in dragging the gray monster off balance. Thankfully, it was enough – Lighteningstar thrust with his long hind legs and flung Ripplestar into the air and into the river.

The RiverClaners didn't like that very much. They leaped forward, screaming battle-cries to the sky, and plunged into the river, flinging sparkling droplets high into the air. ThunderClan answered with eager yowls of their own and swept forward to meet them, tails streaming out behind like battle flags. Larchpaw, Brindlepaw and I raced side by side, our shoulders touching.

The one thing in my sights was the dripping wet, coughing gray leader, and I pumped my legs faster, only to be swept aside by Lighteningstar as he sprung off the ground and onto Ripplestar's back. They tumbled into the river with ferocious cries, claws flashing.

Brindlepaw nudged my shoulder, trying to turn me back. "Lighteningstar's got it covered," she yelled.

No matter how much I wanted to take down the leader myself, Lighteningstar had first dibs, and I had to respect that. I nodded in agreement, and the three of us swung back around and headed back into the thick of the battle.

I knew it would be chaotic, but this was beyond anything I could've imagined. Keens of pain mixed with triumphant shrieks as warriors scored hits. On every side we were buffeted by cats trying to flee, writhing balls of teeth and fangs, or single-mindedly pursing an enemy. I saw Brackenfoot take down a tabby RiverClan cat, yowl her victory, then plunge back into the fray.

The water dripping off the RiverClan cats and made the ground slippery, and my paws started to skid. I yelped and tumbled into the side of a gray RiverClan cat who was in the process of mauling Graystorm and didn't look happy at my interruption. He turned away and lunged downward towards my neck, and I instinctively copied Lighteningstar's move, thrusting upwards with my hind legs. I caught the RiverClan right under his chin, and he fell backwards with a choked gurgle. I took full advantage and pounced on his back, raking his fur with my claws until he screeched for mercy. Toppling off, I let him run away. You shouldn't ever kill a warrior, even if he deserved it.

Graystorm shook blood out of his eyes and gave me a grim smile, painstakingly getting to his feet. "Thanks," he panted.

I shook tufts of gray fur out of my claws. "Don't mention it," I replied. Graystorm nodded and limped to Brightsong, who was ready and waiting with herbs on the fringes of the battlefield.

Brindlepaw suddenly flew out of the crowd, leaping from someone's back to the ground. Larchpaw followed just as quickly, slashing unmercifully at cats to fight his way though.

"There's too many," Brindlepaw yelled in terror. "I brought Lighteningstar and Lightfur and the cats who were in camp, but a lot of them were patrolling or out hunting!" She paused to snap at the legs and tail of a RiverClan warrior attacking Lionclaw. "RiverClan's gonna win!"

"No they're not," I retorted fiercely, but Brindlepaw was right. There was way too many RiverClaners –Cherryspots, blood streaming from a side wound, pelted for the trees at the highest speed a mangled leg would allow, and Graystorm and who knows who else was out of commission.

"We can't just let them take Sunningrocks," I protested.

"Yeah, but I don't want to die just so we can keep -!" Brindlepaw was bowled over by a huge tom that cut and sliced at her stomach.

"NO!" I roared, and tackled him with as much force as I could muster. He was taken by surprise, and the both of us flipped over Brindlepaw and tumbled to the ground. I bit and clawed every inch of him that I could reach.

"Stop – hurting – my – friends!" I screamed into his ear. His face twisted in pain, but he was stubborn and gave as good as he got, scoring my flanks and belly and snapping at my ears. Then one of his flailing claws whipped across my face.

Agony flamed hotter than any fire, bursting across my face. My lungs squeezed, and I gave a tiny gasp of pain – the only sound I could make. The RiverClaner rolled over and pinned me down, claws piercing my skin.

Black dots swarmed my vision until I finally gulped in oxygen. I saw him raise his claw and in a purely instinctive urge to escape twisted out from under his claws, probably leaving half my fur behind.

I staggered to my feet just as a familiar voice shouted in fear. Blindly, I plunged straight towards Brackenfoot's voice, barreling over anyone that was in my way and not even feeling them slice at me. I jumped at her enemy, the blood trickling into my eyes preventing me from seeing anything more than bits and pieces, and attacked like a swarm of bees, everywhere at once, clawing, biting, kicking until the RiverClan cat retreated.

Then Lighteningstar yowled something, but I was on a battle-high, barely even registering him speaking. I ignored his call and launched myself at another enemy, face screwed up in pain and totally operating on just scent and sound. Then who I guessed was Brackenfoot, judging by her smell, barreled into me, ripped me off the cat I was attacking, and herded me in the opposite direction. I kept trying to turn back - why were we running? Heck, where were we even running to? - until Lighteningstar repeated his call from where I guessed was right next to me.

"Fall back to the camp!"

His deep, commanding baritone shook me to my senses, and I beat back the battle-rage coursing hot through my blood and dashed out of the fight with Brackenfoot pressed up against my side to help guide me. We somehow met up with Larchpaw, then Brindlepaw and Pouncetail, and we bolted for the trees with the rest of our Clan.

The blood kept streaming into to my eyes, and I couldn't see anything. I relied on Larchpaw and Brindlepaw, who were now on either side and guided me. But I didn't need eyesight to know that this wasn't over yet.

RiverClan was right behind us, following us right to our camp.

**Like/Don't like? I'm about halfway done with the next chapter, so hopefully I'll update again soon. Please review!**


	22. Chapter 18

**Here's Chapter 18, enjoy :)**

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

I almost broke my leg on our mad dash through the forest tripping over some roots and pebbles and little prey-holes, but fortunately I made it to the camp in more or less one piece. One of my eyes was swollen shut because of my head wound, and the other was caked with dried blood, so seeing was next to impossible. But my nose and ears – well, one of them, anyways, said head wound sort of included my right ear – worked fine.

Judging by the scent, his voice, and where his voice was coming from, I gathered that Lighteningstar was just ahead of me and rapping out instructions. RiverClan must've been slowed down by the difference between their territory and ThunderClan's, and hopefully the same roots and forest debris that almost broke my legs would break some of theirs. But still, we didn't have much of a lead on them, and Lighteningstar was working those precious minutes to the best advantage.

"Shadepaw, do you know the way to WindClan?" Lighteningstar asked.

"Y-Yes," Shadepaw stuttered. "Cherryspots showed me where the borders were."

"Good. Go get help from Tawnystar," Lighteningstar ordered, and some of my tension eased. Shadepaw wouldn't stand a chance in a battle this early into her apprenticeship, and now she'd be out of the fighting. "Find a border patrol or just follow the scent trails. The stronger the smell, the closer you're getting to the camp. Run as fast as you can!"

"Okay," Shadepaw agreed bravely, voice quavering, and I heard the pattering of pawsteps racing away.

"WindClan might not get here in time," Lightfur panted.

"I know," Lighteningstar replied. "Hollythorn, go to SkyClan and ask Streamstar for assistance. Ripplestar might have wounded her ego enough at the Gathering for her to agree to help us."

Hollythorn – who was Shadepaw's mother, I remembered – quickly agreed. "Yes, Lighteningstar!" More running pawsteps.

"Pouncetail, evacuate the Russet and the elders and queens," Lighteningstar continued.

"On it," Pouncetail answered and jogged away.

"Sagepaw and Brightsong, please see to the worst injured. Warriors, if you could join me, please," Lighteningstar finished.

I wasn't sure what to do – did "warriors" include apprentices? Then I smelled Sagepaw and heard him walk straight for me. I focused blindly on where his head ought to be and gritted my teeth. "Go away. There's others hurt way worse than me," I protested as his footsteps stopped, accompanied by the rustling of herbs.

Sagepaw froze. "Are you kidding me, Mothpaw? You could -" He hesitated.

I could tell where this was going. Why did he want to protect me so much anyways? "Don't lie to me," I snapped. "Don't you even think about it. And don't tell me it's for my own good."

Sagepaw shuffled his feet awkwardly and reluctantly continued. "It's one of the worst head injuries I've seen. You're very lucky the cat didn't strike any harder or any higher, or you could've died. As it is…you could lose your eye," he whispered, sounding as heartbroken as if he was the one with the injury.

Brindlepaw gasped, and Larchpaw hissed.

"My eye?" I said, my voice cracking. _My eye_…but, I reminded myself, it could be way worse. I could have no eyes at all. At least, in a worst-case scenario, I'd still have the one, right?

Heck, from what Sagepaw said, I could be _dead_.

That put things into perspective. And besides, I wasn't going to blubber and freak out before the whole Clan. No way, no how.

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay…an eye. No biggie," I said, trying to convince myself as much as him.

He sucked in a breath. "No big -" Sagepaw slowly exhaled and apparently decided to ignore that. "Okay. How bad does it hurt?"

It was strange – it didn't hurt at all after that initial burst of agony. But I had a sneaking suspicion that once the adrenaline wore off the pain would come back full-force. I shrugged. "Can't feel it at the moment," I told him.

"Alright. I'm going to sponge your eyes clean, so you can see out of your good eye and I can get rid of anything nasty. Hold still."

I did as he asked and felt him press a wad of moss to my good eye, the cool water rinsing off the caked-on blood. My muscles relaxed and I couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. Larchpaw fidgeted next to me, but didn't say a word.

"Okay. Now blink."

I blinked blearily until Sagepaw's face came into focus, and beamed, ignoring how it tugged at the long scratch on my face. I could see again!

"Stop that," Sagepaw instructed, setting down his moss ball. "You don't want to open it up even more."

"Whatever, doc," I muttered under my breath, but I dropped my grin.

Sagepaw continued with his treatment, gentle but fast. "Okay, that's it. I gotta run!"

"Thanks!" I called after him as he raced away to Brackenfoot without looking back. What was with him, just running off like that? I mean, I knew he had to hurry, but he always said good-bye to me. Maybe it was stress or something.

Lighteningstar finished his war-strategy council with his warriors and walked over to us. "Are you alright?" he asked me.

I nodded and tried to lighten the situation a bit. "Yup. I'm good, boss-cat."

It worked a little – a smile flickered across his face – but then he got serious again. "I want you three to go join Cloudfur and Graystorm over at the camp entrance. Guard it well."

"You can count on us," I assured him. Brindlepaw and Larchpaw nodded firmly.

Lighteningstar grinned at us. "I know."

I couldn't help standing straighter as he walked away.

Brindlepaw's ears went back nervously. "RiverClan's taking a while to get here," she whispered nervously.

"They're probably regrouping," Larchpaw suggested. "Taking their time. After all, they've got us trapped here."

Brindlepaw swallowed. "Y-Yeah. T-Trapped. Let's go join Grayst-"

An ear-splitting battle yowl split the air, and there was Ripplestar standing haughtily at the top of the ravine, peering down at us all with predatory dark blue eyes glinting with a grim smile. He knew we were trapped. My fur crawled with the sensation I imagined a mouse would have, caught between an enemy's claws, but I refused to show it. I lifted my chin and stuck my tongue out at him. The jerk deserved something far more insulting, but I didn't want to raise his blood pressure much more. He'd explode or something.

Not a bad idea, come to think of it, but Lighteningstar deserved to kick Ripplestar's tail in a fair battle.

Ripplestar caught sight of me and his hackles rose. He bared his teeth at me. "A trade, Lighteningstar," he called out calmly. "The annoying kittypet apprentice and Sunningrocks for the lives of your Clan and the safety of your camp."

My heart stuttered. He couldn't be serious…me and Sunningrocks, and he'd just walk away?

Most cats didn't believe him as well. Brightsong looked like she was about to race up the ravine and tear his throat out, and Sagepaw was practically shaking, he was so mad. Larchpaw and Brindlepaw, Brackenfoot, Graystorm, all my friends were shouting at Ripplestar defiantly.

And then there were cats like Sandclaw. "One apprentice isn't worth the death this war will cause," he protested. "And Ripplestar wouldn't dare harm her, because of the Code."

It was true, he probably wouldn't kill me, but quite honestly, it wasn't Ripplestar torturing me that was ripping me apart inside. It was my friends dying just because they'd refused to give me up. Wasn't that worth being tortured for? The lives of your friends? Or was I just a coward?

"Silence!" Lighteningstar spat, silencing Sandclaw and his fellow Mothpaw-hater-buddies. "And Mothpaw, don't you move." His black-tipped tail lashed furiously. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" he snapped up at Ripplestar. "Not on your life!"

Ripplestar shrugged. "Thought you'd say that, but it was worth a shot." He threw his head back and sounded the call to attack.

RiverClan cats swarmed over the ravine like an angry many-hued river, with the thundering sound to match. We barely had time to brace ourselves before the tidal wave of enemies crashed into us.

I yelped as somecat slammed into me, which wasn't a great idea – I got a mouthful of nasty-tasting dusty yellow fur – but at least it gave me an opening. I bit down hard, fighting my gag reflex, and lashed out. The cat I was biting screeched like mad, a sound so high that if he/she kept screaming, only bats would be able to hear it soon - and tore him/herself away.

Not very smart, because he left about half his pelt in my mouth.

I spat out hairs, kicked out at some RiverClaner I saw out of my peripheral vision, and moaned. "Eww!"

Still coughing up that gross fur, I launched myself at the tom Brackenfoot was fighting, helped her pin him down, and spun back around at the pained cry of Barkfang.

Truthfully, I can't describe much of what happened in the few minutes after that. There comes a time in battle when you just stop thinking and let your instinct take over, like going on autopilot. Rational thought took a siesta.

Then I heard a yell and smelled something that jerked me out of my battle-trance – a warm, milky scent that only young kits had. I blinked awake, roughly yanked my claws out of whoever I was pummeling, and sprinted for the dazed, fluffy bundle of black fur that had somehow made its way down the ravine and back to camp.

"My kit!"

On the very fringes of the battle, a blinded RiverClan warrior raised a paw to swat Nightkit out of the way, needle-sharp claws dripping blood, and I swear my heart stopped. Nightkit, confused by the sounds of battle and tottering on legs barely three days old, eyes still squeezed shut, let out a weak mewl and turned around, heading for the enemy.

NO! _Too far, too far, too far –_

Just before the RiverClaner's claws struck home, a streak of white thundered by and crashed into the RiverClan warrior. Whitefoot yowled a battle cry and forced him away from her kit, but even I could see that she was off-balance and slow, completely out of shape after two moons in the nursery.

I pushed myself faster, my chest squeezed by a terrible fear, but just then two fighting warriors barreled into my path. No, no, no, no! They were blocking my way to Whitefoot! "Move it!" I screeched, but they didn't hear, so I darted under their flailing paws. Had to get to Whitefoot!

_Too late… _

I skidded to a stop like I'd just slammed into a brick wall, the battle behind me suddenly silenced, like it had been put on mute. Whitefoot wasn't moving, just lying there all sprawled out in front of the RiverClaner.

"I-I didn't mean it," he stuttered to no one in particular, amber eyes huge and fixed on her still body.

I was still standing there in shock, my legs not listening to me. Any second, Whitefoot was going to jump up and be okay again, she had to be!

Whitefoot couldn't die!

The RiverClaner looked up and saw me, flinching and stumbling away from Whitefoot, who wasn't, couldn't be, dead. "I d-didn't mean to k-kill her," he choked out.

I barely even acknowledged him. Whitefoot was going to stand up any second now and be okay, tell me that blood leaking onto her snow-white fur wasn't hers at all.

But even as I hoped, prayed to every deity I'd ever heard of, that she was alive, I knew. I knew it, sure as the blood staining the dirt around her a dark red, which Whitefoot wasn't going to get up. Not now, not ever. Whitefoot was gone.

My legs unfroze, and before I realized it, I was standing over her body. Her green eyes were shut, and a horrible gash in her throat oozed.

She was gone.

I looked up at the RiverClan warrior, who was now a whimpering, sobbing huddle. The rage I expected didn't come, just an overpowering disgust at this pathetic, miserable cat.

"You are a coward. A killer of mothers. A murderer," I hissed, and a small part of my brain was shocked at how cold and steady my voice was. "You disgust me."

He backed up, eyes again fixed on Whitefoot's shell, then spun around and raced blindly away.

I stared down at Whitefoot's body for a moment. The bright red stain looked out of place on the white fur, but it was odd – the body in front of me didn't seem to be Whitefoot's at all. Without her spark, it was just an empty bundle of fur.

Oh StarClan.

Whitefoot was _gone._

Tears leaked out of my eyes, carving trails in my fur, and I let out a shuddering breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Oh man…if I felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest, what would poor Graystorm feel like?

Before I completely lost it, a confused mewling sound jerked me back to reality. Nightkit tottered between my paws on legs barely three days old, and he huddled into his mother's belly.

I gently fixed my teeth in his scruff and pulled him away into the shelter of the camp bramble-bush wall, licking Whitefoot's blood off his coat. He whimpered, not understanding what was going on, and I curled my tail around him.

"It's okay, sweetie," I lied. How could it be okay? His mother was _dead…_

Nightkit mewled again and leaned into my legs, so trusting and innocent in the way little kits are. He had no idea what had just happened. Heck, his eyes weren't even open yet…he wouldn't even remember what his mother looked like. I sniffled and tried to keep it together.

Then I realized that there was still a fight going on. I scooped Nightkit up and was about to make a run for the ravine to leave him with the other evacuated cats, but then a very beat-up Graystorm raced up.

He froze and stared down in shock at Whitefoot's body, not even realizing me and Nightkit were there. After a moment, he broke into a stumbling run and staggered to his mate, nosing her and burying his face in his fur, licking the blood off, begging her to stay with him. My heart broke even more.

Maybe…maybe if he saw Nightkit, his and Whitefoot's son, he wouldn't feel so alone and sad. Not the best idea, but at the moment, it was the only thing I could come up with.

So I padded out of my little hiding place and walked over to him. He didn't notice me until the third time I coughed loudly. He saw me first, and then he saw Nightkit.

His face twisted into a horrible sneer. "Take that thing away from me!" he spat. "Whitefoot died because of it!"

I blinked at him in shock. _It_? Graystorm was calling his own son an _it_?

Graystorm let out a keening wail that had every one of my hairs standing straight up. "I should've been here sooner!" he howled. "I should've kept you safe! If that stupid warrior hadn't attacked me…"

What the heck was going on here? My head reeled. _Too much, too much for me_… "At least Nightkit's okay," I ventured.

He was shaking now. "_Whitefoot_ should be okay," he hissed. "But she's _dead_!"

I took a step backwards. This wasn't Graystorm. Graystorm would be happy his son was safe. "What's wrong with you?"

He ignored me and hunched protectively over Whitefoot's body, until he saw the gash in her throat. His eyes blazed, and I shrunk back.

"Where's the scum that did this to you?" he raged. "I'll kill him!" He leaped up and threw himself into the forest after Whitefoot's killer before I had any idea what he was doing.

"No!" I screamed after him, but he was gone.

Nightkit wriggled and let out a dejected mew. I had to get him to safety, I remembered. Get him up to the ravine.

I glanced around. The battle was still raging….how could I get him up there? And I couldn't just abandon my Clanmates.

Then my ears twitched, catching a noise, and my breath caught with hope. _Please don't let that be my imagination!_

It wasn't. A few moments later, a wave of fresh fighters - WindClan - poured down the ravine, Shadepaw and her mother, Hollythorn, racing in the lead with Tawnystar, yowling the battle cry I'd heard to the sky.

Ripplestar let out a frustrated screech, but there was nothing he could do. Within a heartbeat, his warriors were getting the beating of their lives.

No need for me to stay now; the new warriors had everything under control (even though Ripplestar didn't seem to realize that).

The WindClan warriors were already turning the tide, but RiverClan wasn't giving up. Nightkit was still in danger. I bolted away from the ending fight. _Get him up to the ravine… up to the ravine…_

I scrambled up the incline, but I barely noticed where I was putting my feet. Without the battle to worry about, my mind was stuck on replaying that Graystorm incident, over and over. Something inside him had snapped. I'd never, ever thought I'd be afraid of my adopted dad/uncle figure, but frankly, I was terrified. I made a silent vow to keep Nightkit and Dasiykit away from him until he got better.

Graystorm _had_ to get better.

I pulled myself up and over the top of the ravine, wincing as Nightkit's hind paws scrapped against the rock, but the little guy was too worn out to even squeak.

Me? Well, when I saw what was going on at the top of the ravine, I had three words left in me. I set Nightkit down.

"What…the…HECK?"

**Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. Next chapter will be up soon as I can write it :)**

**Question time! Who likes Larchpaw x Mothpaw, and who votes Sagepaw x Mothpaw? I've already got 2 for Sage x Moth, and I want to know what everyone else thinks, too. Also, warrior names have been chosen, and will be announced in the next chapter or so! Thanks so much for your input guys, it helped a TON!**


	23. Chapter 19

**I'm so sorry it's been so long! I have no excuse, other than school, exams and all that fun stuff. But the semester's over now :D So hopefully I'll get in a few more chapters before school starts up again. **

**Hope you like it :)**

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

Russetpaw jerked her head up when she heard my voice, green eyes absolutely huge. She was standing over a dead gray cat with distinctive tabby markings, a cat I'd grown to like and consider a friend.

"I-It's n-not what it l-looks like," she stammered, shaking.

"You killed Pouncetail," I spat, my ears flat against my head and claws itching to bury themselves in her traitorous hide. I crouched over Nightkit protectively. "Just like you tried to kill me!"

"Hold on there a second, young'un," Mudfur (a spotted brown elder) said sharply.

Ashtail, a speckled gray tabby tom with blue eyes and the oldest cat in ThunderClan stood up creakily. "Russet has decided where her loyalties lie," he rasped.

Dapplefur, licking Daisykit, nodded at her fellow elder's words. "Pouncetail was taken by surprise by a RiverClan cat," she explained. "Russet fought off his attacker."

Ohhh-kay. And why is that hard to believe? I wonder…I raised a skeptical "eyebrow". And yet, she did have witnesses…Maybe she _was _telling the truth. I mean, she'd been incredibly freaked out after almost killing me. Judging by that reaction, she'd never try murder again.

It didn't mean I was now her best friend, or that I'd trust her, but maybe she'd turned her messed-up life around.

I picked up Nightkit and padded over (giving Russet a wide berth, just in case) to Dapplefur to set him down by his sister. Dapplefur blinked sympathetically at me.

"I know it's hard to believe," she whispered, "but she really did protect us."

Mudfur, close enough to hear her comment, twitched his ears grouchily. "I could've protected us just fine," he grumbled. "I've still got some good claw swipes left."

Dapplefur rolled her eyes at him, then smiled at me. "I'm so glad you found Nightkit! He wandered off in the chaos when Pouncetail was attacked. Whitefoot went after him…Where _is_ Whitefoot?"

I'd nearly managed to shove that particular subject out of my head, but now it came crashing back. "She's dead," I replied, harsher than I meant to be.

Dapplefur gasped, Mudfur's eyes widened, and Ashtail broke into a coughing fit. Russet…well, it was hard to tell with her. She seemed terrified pretty much every moment nowadays.

"A RiverClan warrior couldn't see at all, and I guess he thought Nightkit was sneaking up on him or something. He was about to swat Nightkit out of the way when Whitefoot got there, but she was too out of shape and he couldn't see and he killed her. He didn't mean to, but he killed her."

"Oh StarClan," Dapplefur whispered. "Poor thing."

"Does Graystorm know?" Ashtail croaked.

I swallowed. "He knows…"

"How is he taking it?"

I hesitated. "Uh…not too well," I confessed.

Mudfur snorted. "Well, it's only to be expected. He loved her."

True. But I dunno if Graystorm going crazy and blaming his kit for Whitefoot's death was 'only to be excepted.'

Mudfur was still waiting impatiently for a response, so I gave a noncommittal shrug.

Suddenly wanting to get away from all the questions, I started to edge towards the ravine. "So, you guys have Nightkit?"

Dapplefur nodded. "Go rejoin the battle."

"Kick their sorry RiverClan tails," Mudfur ordered.

I grinned. "Will do. I'll shred a few pelts just for you, Mudfur."

Sadly, there wasn't much tail-kicking or pelt-shredding to be done. With the arrival of WindClan, RiverClan was pretty much done for and the fighting basically stopped. RiverClan had fled, like the mangy losers they were.

I didn't get close enough to hear the conversation, but it looked like Lighteningstar was thanking Tawnystar for her help and acknowledging that we owed them one.

With a gracious nod, Tawnystar accepted the promise of a favor, and quickly left for home with her warriors.

After calling to the Mudfur and the others up the ravine that it was safe to come back down, I limped slowly the rest of the way, taking my time now that there was nothing to rush for. The leg I almost snapped in half on our mad dash back to camp throbbed angrily…I more or less felt like a walking blob of pain.

I didn't see Graystorm anywhere.

Graystorm – Whitefoot's body.

With a lump in my throat that I couldn't get rid of, I hurried to the edge of camp where Whitefoot had died so I could take her body into the center of camp, like somecat had already done with the other dead warriors.

She deserved all the honors the Clan cats believed in.

Later that night, after the sun had gone down, I still hadn't moved from where I was crouched, next to Whitefoot's cold body. I didn't think I'd ever be able to move again – and it had nothing to do with how stiff my legs were feeling.

I sniffled and tried to keep myself from crying like a baby, but it was hard. Whitefoot was the cat I'd started to view as a mom – something I'd never thought about at Twolegplace, but then wondered about and had just started to find when BAM – gone, just like that. And if I felt this bad, what about Dasiykit and Nightkit, her real kids? And Graystorm, who still hadn't come back yet?

Whitefoot was always so cheerful and nice; what was ThunderClan without her?

The waterworks turned on, and refused to be turned off.

Larchpaw, just free from Brightsong's Treatment of Torture, padded up behind me somewhat hesitantly. I flicked an ear to acknowledge his presence; I didn't feel like talking.

"Mothpaw," he started quietly. "You can't sit there forever."

After a second, I found my voice. "Yes," I snapped. "I can." Yeah, he was trying to be strong and all, but didn't he _understand?_

Larchpaw blinked, then took another tactic. "You'll feel better once you get some food in you," he suggested.

I narrowed my eyes, but the effect was brutally shattered when I hiccupped. "Don't you (hic) _get_ it (hic)?" I asked desperately. "Whitefoot's _dead!_"

Larchpaw nodded with a hurt look in his eyes that made me feel guilty. "I get it, Mothpaw, I really do. But we've got to move on eventually"-

Guilty feeling gone.

My head whipped around. "Move (hic) on? And _forget _about her?" I hissed.

Larchpaw stepped back. "I'm just trying to help," he mumbled.

I sighed, my anger fading. There just wasn't much room in me for strong emotion anymore. "I know, and I appreciate it. But I just need some alone time. Why don't you help Brindlepaw? I think she could use some support, with Pouncefoot's death."

I'd go, but I didn't know how well I could help her, being crushed myself. After the vigil I'd try.

Larchpaw nodded, the hurt look slightly lessened, and padded away, tail drooping. He really was just trying to help, but it wasn't working.

I turned back to Whitefoot and pressed my nose into her cold white fur. She didn't even smell like Whitefoot anymore – Brightsong had rubbed lavender and pine sap onto her fur.

More pawsteps behind me. "Really, just leave me alone, Larchpaw," I mumbled.

"I'm not Larchpaw," Sagepaw's quiet mew said.

"I don't care. Leave me alone."

"You know I'm not gonna do that."

"_Go_."

"Nope." Sagepaw settled down next to me, his gray fur brushing mine.

I sniffed again. "Seriously. I don't need help that won't help. Don't waste your time."

Sagepaw ignored that. "You don't have to do it alone, you know."

I didn't know how to answer that. "…No comment," I muttered. I kept my face turned away so he wouldn't see me crying, but Sagepaw could tell.

He licked my ear. "Crying helps. Let it out."

"I'm not gonna be a kit."

"Crying doesn't mean you're being a kit."

I sighed and faced him. "Whitefoot felt like a mom," I admitted. Why I was telling him, I didn't know.

"I know, and you're going to miss her. But you'll see her again," he said between the soothing strokes of his tongue. "And Whitefoot would want you to be happy."

"I know," I mumbled. "It's just hard…"

"And it will be for a while. But it'll get easier."

That's part of why I liked Sagepaw. He told it to me straight off the bat, while at the same time making me feel better. He let me deal with it at my own pace. Larchpaw had tried to get me on my feet again in his own way, but I wasn't Clanborn – I wasn't used to death and destruction and blood. He hadn't let me cope with it myself.

"Thanks, Sagepaw," I told my friend. It didn't quite convey all that I was feeling, but I think he understood.

The morning and afternoon passed with nothing to report, other than Whitefoot's and Pouncefoot's burials. I almost lost it then and there, but I had my friends with me – Brindlepaw (looking crushed, but better; we'd had a good cry session together that had both of us feeling slightly better), Larchpaw, Sagepaw, Shadepaw. Poor Nightkit and Dasiykit didn't understand where their momma was going, which made my heart break that much more.

Graystorm, too, was announced dead; search patrols had been sent out, but they'd found _nada_. So we took a moment to honor his spirit, as well.

It was the sunset where things started to pick themselves up. After a day of grieving, Lighteningstar started to set the Clan on the plan of moving on.

"Russet has proven her loyalty," he declared. "Russet, you are returned to your place in the Clan, and your training as an apprentice will continue. Russetpaw!"

The Clan let out a few half-hearted cheers, but not all of them believed Russetpaw had really decided she was ThunderClan, and they weren't in the mood for a celebration.

I started to turn back to my nest so I could crash and get a good rest (I'd been too restless to sleep last night) when Lighteningstar waved his tail for silence, instead of hopping off the Highrock and ending the meeting. I bit back a growl; what more was there to say?

Lighteningstar's piercing yellow eyes swept over the crowd, before his gaze landed on me and my friends. "I have one more piece of business to discuss," he continued. "Mothpaw, Brindlepaw, Larchpaw, and Stonepaw have fought as warriors, and it is time for them to become so."

No way…no way…I was getting my warrior name? It would've been nice to receive mine without Stonehead (oops, StonePAW) getting his too, but you can't have everything.

A spark flickered to life in my previously empty-feeling heart. Sagepaw nudged my shoulder with a gleeful grin on his face, and Shadepaw watched us with awe.

"Larchpaw, Mothpaw, Brindlepaw, and Stonepaw," Lighteningstar called, "step forward."

I padded towards the Highrock, flanked by my friends, trembling with excitement and pride - Stonepaw followed behind us with a smug smirk on his face, but I decided to claw it off later; why ruin the moment? I was going to become a warrior!

"Mentors – are they ready to become a full part of the Clan?"

"They are," Barkfang, Brackenfoot, Cloudfur, and Sandclaw replied.

"Then I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Do you promise to follow the warrior code and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"We do," we chorused, Stonepaw repeating after a barely noticeable, millisecond's hesitation. More incentive to watch him – like I needed more.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Lighteningstar proclaimed with a smile. Larchpaw, from this day forth you will be known as Larchfoot."

Larchfoot smiled, green eyes shining.

"Brindlepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Brindlefur." Brindlefur beamed happily, almost bouncing with joy.

"Stonepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Stoneclaw." His smirk grew wider, and he let out a deep, rumbling purr that didn't sound happy - more like triumphant.

"And Mothpaw…" he looked at me with pride in his eyes. I stood up straighter, forgetting about Stonehead; what would my name be?

"From this moment on, you will be known as Mothwing."

Mothwing…I liked it.

No, scratch that – I loved it.

"ThunderClan welcomes you as full warriors!" Lighteningstar declared

This time, the response was much more loud and glad. "Larchfoot! Brindlefur! Stoneclaw! Mothwing!"

Amid the storm of cheers and congratulations (Sagepaw, Brightsong, and Brackenfoot's some of the loudest), for the first time, I felt like I really, truly belonged.

**So...was it okay? Good? Bad? Need to be fixed? Review please!**


	24. Chapter 20

**So sorry for the long wait! I've had some really horrible writer's block. Some of it's still lingering, so this is more of a filler chapter while I get everything else sorted out. Well, maybe not a filler chapter, as important stuff happens, but there's not a lot of action.**

**Just a warning, though – as I haven't written in forever, it might be…well, kinda crummy. And it gets a little sappy later on. Sorry!**

_**Chapter Twenty**_

Vigil was cold, but there was a warm, fuzzy feeling inside me that made it bearable. The only thing that ruined it was Stonehead – cough, Stone_claw_ – who just had to be made a warrior at the same time and was keeping vigil with us. Though, if you ask me, he wasn't thinking about what being a warrior meant, like Lighteningstar had said; nope, judging by the way his narrowed eyes stared unblinkingly out over the forest and by his charming personality, I'd say he was planning nothing short of world domination.

That guy was a _creep_. Being made a warrior didn't make him any bit better than he'd been before, which was an easy 15 on a "most likely to turn evil and crazy" scale of 1 to 10.

So, I made a promise. Whatever Stoneclaw did that was, well, bad, he was going _down_. After all, it's a warrior's job to protect the weak and all that, right? And we all know that Stoneclaw had a nasty habit of exploiting the weak. Or I knew, anyway.

* * * **A few weeks later *** * *

"Ouch, that's my tail!"

"Sorry, Mothwing."

I couldn't resist the dejected little face staring up at me. "It's okay, Daisykit." I sunk into a crouch with a playful grin. "Bet you can't catch me now!"

"Yes we can," Nightkit laughed, and both of them pounced on me. I batted gently at their ears, then rolled over with a dramatic moan, careful not to squash them.

"Oh, no, attacking kits! Pick on someone your own size! Help me!" They bounced on my belly – the air rushed out of me with an _oof _– andI flopped over, playing dead.

"Mothwing?" Daisykit giggled. I held my breath and kept my eyes closed.

Nightkit poked my nose with a paw. "Mothwing? You're not dead," he said confidently.

Man, they were really starting to catch on to me. "You killed me," I proclaimed, my eyes still shut.

"No we didn't, we heard you!" they protested, and I laughed, climbing back to my feet as they jumped off me.

"All right, you win," I teased. "You guys'll make great warriors!"

They puffed out their little chests and held their tails high.

"I wanna be called Nightfury!" Nightkit decided, stalking an imaginary enemy with a snarl on his face.

I licked his ears, ignoring his half-hearted grumbling. "Lighteningstar will choose your name, but he'll make sure you get a great one."

"Mothwing!" Larchfoot called me. I smiled over my shoulder at him, gave Nightkit one last lick, then nudged him and his sister in the direction of the nursery.

"Bye, guys. I'll visit you later!"

"Love you, Mothwing," Dasiykit squeaked, then nudged her brother, who made a face at the word 'love'.

"Come see us soon!" Nightkit begged.

I just couldn't resist those big eyes of his. They made me melt into a puddle of _awwww. _"Okay. Soon as I can."

They cheered and scampered off.

"Those kits have you wrapped around their paws," Larchfoot teased me, flicking me on the shoulder with his tail. I blushed and tried to pretend I hadn't.

"They're good kits," I said fondly.

"They are," he agreed. When we both had free time, we'd play with the kits together. He loved them just as much as I did. "Want to walk around the forest together?"

I stretched out the kinks in my legs and grinned. "You betcha. Where to this time?"

"What about the RiverClan border. We can check things out while we're there, since it's been quiet for a while," Larchfoot explained.

"Good plan."

We called a good-bye to Brindlefur, who was helping to patch up the warriors' dens for the upcoming winter. She waved her tail in response and winked at me, her eyes flicking from Larchfoot to me and back again. I rolled my eyes – Larchfoot still had no idea that I thought of him as more than a FRIEND, despite the many ways I'd tried to tell it without actually saying it out loud.

Despite that little chestnut, the patrol went awesomely. We shared a mouse when we got hungry, and generally goofed off – playing chase and catch the leaf and mock-fighting each other. I was floating on air every time Larchfoot smiled or laughed. He was really too shy for his own good – opening up was a big accomplishment for him. I resolved to get him to do so as much as I could.

"I love these trips," I sighed.

Larchfoot blushed and gave my ear a quick lick before turning away in embarrassment. "Me, too," he agreed.

Growly playfully, I pounced on his back, and wrestled him to the ground. "Muahahaha!"

Larchfoot gasped in mock horror. "Oh no! Whatever shall I do?"

I mimicked Cloudfur's deep voice. "Now, now, Larchpaw. When you turn your back, you open yourself to attack."

Larchfoot bowed his head to his chest. "Yes, mentor."

I laughed, then before I thought about it licked his nose. As his eyes went big, I blushed redder than the sun, squeaked in embarrassment and scrambled off him.

Larchfoot (with a dazed grin that made my heart skip) got to his feet, then leaped at me and pinned _me _to the ground. "You get off your enemy and he can get you right back," he pretend-scolded in a fair imitation of Brackenfoot's voice.

I grinned, then froze. Larchfoot quickly got off me and nudged me to my paws, his handsome yellow eyes worried. "What's wrong?"

I sniffed again, my good mood evaporating. "Stoneclaw," I growled. "I thought Lighteningstar wanted him to stay home and heal from that thorn he got in his paw?" Why did Stoneclaw have to ruin practically every good moment of my life? Why? The stupid jerk. Even when he wasn't intentionally being a nasty idiot, he somehow managed to become one.

Larchfoot was scowling too. "Same. Guess he snuck off."

Simmering with anger, I stomped silently (if that was possible) off to follow the trail, Larchfoot's gray fur brushing my side. My bad mood lifted a bit, then settled right back down. I glanced at Larchfoot, frowning thoughtfully. He seemed even irritated than I was, and I was pretty mad. Being angry at all was rare for him. Wonder what Stoneclaw did to get his tail in such a twist, other than being his usual charismatic self?

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

He still looked like he wanted to slowly pull Stoneclaw's whiskers off, one by one, but his face softened. "I'm okay. Just…upset."

"What for?"

He blushed. "Uh…" I made big, round kit-eyes, and he shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "I wanted to ask you something," he squeaked.

Under the circumstances, I let it go with a curious look (I'd beg him to tell me mercilessly later) and got back to business.

We stalked along the riverbank, keeping to the ferns and underbrush, ears pricked. Larchfoot watched our backs as I led us forward – we worked so well together that it was pretty much instinctive now. I'd take point, he'd take the rear.

When we reached the street (or Thunderpath) for the second time, the wind shifted and the smell vanished.

"Nononono!" I whisper-yowled.

I sniffed every plant and clump of dirt and pebble along the Thunderpath, but nothing. At all. It was like Stoneclaw grew wings and flew away... even his scent is bent on annoying me. I sat down, confused and practically drowning in disappointment.

"Dang," I sighed. "But he _was_ here, very recently, when he should have been resting in camp."

Larchfoot flicked my shoulder with his tail. "Want to head back? We can look again tomorrow."

I hesitated, but agreed. At least now that I knew the jerk was sneaking out, I'd be able to watch for that. And next time, I vowed, he wouldn't escape Mothwing the super-sleuth.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Let's go back."

The wind switched again as we turned and headed for the trees. Larchfoot froze, raising his head to the breeze and inhaling deeply.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

He stared across the Thunderpath. "…Thought I'd smelled something, but I guess not."

"Stoneclaw?" I perked up. Maybe the trail wasn't lost!

"No…something else." He stared off into space, nose scrunched up in thought. After a minute, I waved my tail in front of his face, and he blinked.

"Earth to Larchfoot! It's fine if you can't remember. We'll check tomorrow," I reassured. "And maybe Brindlefur can come too, so we'll have an extra nose."

He nodded, still thinking about whatever-it-was that he'd smelled. "Uh-huh…"

"Cheer up. A sad Larchfoot is just…wrong," I teased, giving a shudder.

He rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated smile, pulling his lips away from his teeth.

"Perfect!" Then I remembered. "Hey, what were you going to ask me earlier?"

He coughed, suddenly very fascinated in a very boring clump of bracken.

"C'mon, you can tell me," I pleaded. He wasn't one for secrets, which made this all the more interesting.

"…Fine."

Larchfoot was always a bit of a pushover, but I wasn't expecting a surrender THAT quickly. I blinked. "Wow, that's it? We need to teach you the fine art of arguing."

He didn't even crack a smile. He hunched his shoulders slightly and took a deep breath. Now I was really intrigued.

"Uh, well, d'you want…would you…uh…" he stuttered himself into silence.

"Do I want…what?" I prodded. "I promise, I'm not gonna laugh or anything."

"Would you mind…Iloveyou."

"Could you say that again? I missed it," I apologized. "Sorry."

"S'okay. I love you, Mothwing," he mumbled, looking like every word was slowly and tortuously extracted from him.

"Oh. Well, that's great, I – wait. You love me?" I repeated. Time froze.

He still looked like a kicked kitten. "Yeah," he squeaked.

"YES!" I crowed. "Finally!"

I tackled him in pure joy. "You toms are so thick! I was running out of ways to hint that you were more than friend material!"

"Can't…breathe," he gasped.

"Oops!" Embarrassed to the very tips of my fur, I scrambled off him. _OHMYSTARCLAN he loved me!_

"You were hinting that you liked me?" he asked, sounding totally clueless.

"Not liked," I corrected. "Loved. And duh!"

"Huh." Larchfoot's expression morphed into a dazed grin, like someone dropped a boulder on his head. "Really?"

"Of course! You're smart and sweet and the nicest cat I've ever met. You know me better than anyone, and I love being around you! Besides, who else could put up with me? Who else would I want to spend my life with?"

"Uh…no one?" he tried hopefully.

I laughed, licking his nose. "You betcha."

He looked happier than it should have been possible to look, and I laughed again. The start of the rest of my life was looking pretty awesome...at that point, anyway.

***looks up* Yeah. It's pretty crummy…I tried to make it as less mushy as possible, but it still came out that way. Sigh. Again, soooooo sorry for the long wait! **


End file.
